It Isn't Just Cats That Have Nine Lives
by Silver Wolf2
Summary: I was unsure as to whether I should write it for a variety of reasons, but I've done it. It takes place just after MGS based upon the assumption that Liquid didn't die after all. Completed with Liquid's ending too! Some edits are being made too now.
1. Chapter 1.

Well, I've decided to take a break from my usual kind of fanfics, to do something a bit different for me. Rather than taking scenes from the games, I am going to ponder upon the question I sometimes have going on in my head when I write my other fanfics. Sure, Liquid is dead, but then why should that stop me from wondering about what he would do if he didn't die? This is fan fiction after all! Anyway, to give you the gist of this fic, I'll explain a little; I'm telling this from the views of both Solid Snake and Liquid Snake so I can tell it from both sides. Do be warned I switch between the two and some paragraphs are timed at roughly the same time, but just seen from the others view. 

Disclaimer: the characters and such in this fanfic are not mine, and are the property of Konami and their creator, Mr.Kojima.

**It Isn't Just Cats That Have Nine Lives.**

Chapter 1.

Snake had never felt quite as contented as he was now. Usually after a mission, he left with a lingering feeling of doubt for himself, wondering if all of the killing was worth it. He didn't get any reward or any recognition, just years of solitude and depression in an attempt to run away from the horrors and wrongs he'd committed in the name of peace. It had seemed before this mission there was no end to the daily cycle he trudged through, living only for life's sake. Now… that had taken a complete turn around; Snake had something to look forward to, someone to share this little personal victory with. Maybe now after going for so long with no hope to suggest that there was more to his life than fighting, this was the fortune that he'd been missing.

He felt Meryl shuffle forward in the seat of the snowmobile, leaning up against his back to peer over his shoulder, wrapping her arms low around his hips. She watched with him the early morning sunlight shimmer as it reflected off the white ice as if it were sprinkled with diamond dust.

Snake yawned, raising a hand to his mouth and adjusted his bandanna sitting on his brow. The effects of the drugs in the nanomachines were starting to wear off and he blinked sleep away as best he could.

"Been some day." He shouted so Meryl could hear him over the combined noise of the droning engine and the singing wind as they sped across the white expanse.

"Mmmm… yeah…" Meryl mumbled into his ear. Snake could tell that the ordeal had drained her significantly. It came as no surprise to him and decided it wasn't a good idea to ask her any more questions.

"Just rest now, okay?" he said and Meryl shifted closer, wriggling to get comfy.

"Sure… thanks…" she breathed and her head drooped down before falling to lie on his shoulder.

It didn't take long for memories of the mission to begin seeping back into the forefront of Snake's mind. He'd saved some people but had lost some too. Gray Fox, his old friend, now had at last found what he'd been robbed of in Zanzibar. If it hadn't been for him, Snake might not have been alive. Or Meryl for that matter. He couldn't tell if Fox had carried out his last actions to let Snake end the mission or for any other reason. How could anybody tell what had been going on inside Fox's mind after being kept from dying like he should have done six years ago, to play out the fragmented "existence" the scientists burdened him with, dependant on medicines and that exoskeleton for the sorry last fight.

"Naomi. Why did I have to lie to you like that? Makes me almost as bad as you." Snake thought, the memory of Fox brought back the message he'd told Snake to pass onto her. It was clear to Snake, that had he stuck faithfully to Fox's words they would have destroyed her. Naomi's life had already been taken apart once as a child, twice for being caught as a spy. To tell her the truth about her past would only further mar the life she'd bought and pieced together. People could accuse Snake as much as they wanted for being cold and unfeeling, but he knew himself that wasn't true. If it were he would have not hidden the truth from Naomi and would have left Meryl for dead and that would have only made him like his brother…

"Why should I worry about him?" Snake thought and looked back over his shoulder at Meryl. "Even you saw it. He's dead now, right." He said aloud to her. "Yeah, Liquid's gone." Snake thought in conclusion and turned his attention back to the snowmobile, putting it into a higher gear.

≈≈≈≈≈≈

"Hell… must have frozen over if he didn't die…" he thought slowly into the muggy darkness."Explains why I'm so cold…"

But then to be in Hell would mean that you were dead and in death, you could feel nothing, well to Liquid's knowledge. It hadn't been something he'd thought about much, not since he was young and first experienced real combat for himself, and his capture in the Middle East. 

But why was it that he felt so bitterly cold? The ice made his wounds sting, soothed his bruises and made him numb. Sure, you got cold when you were dead, but you didn't think about it, did you? He couldn't be dead. But Liquid felt as if he was, or maybe halfway there. The light feeling in his head prevented him from solving the conundrum. He couldn't concentrate or focus. One thought floated into another. He wasn't quite there. No, he wasn't… yes…maybe not… 

Somehow Liquid had defied that virus, looked into the eyes of the Grim Reaper and laughed before turning away and heading back. He couldn't go yet. He had something to do first.

Liquid Snake opened his eyes and everything was as it had been before. In front of him lay his FAMAS, splashed with his own blood from that gunfight on the jeeps. Beyond it was the overturned jeep dented, scratched, and covered in bullet holes. Footprints lead away and past where he lay, one set much bigger and broader than the other set which looked far more dainty in comparison. 

It took a while for Liquid to finally register what his situation was.

"I'm… _alive?…_ **ALIVE?!**" he said out loud and pushed himself up onto his knees quickly, wishing he hadn't. A grin crept across his face and he started to laugh in spite of the sharp pain in his chest from a fractured rib or two. His head pounded and he couldn't think straight. Above the confusion in his mind, Liquid still remembered what had driven him here. The single thought, the blackened hatred, that last memory before he had fallen to the ground. The face that looked so much like his own… and the one he despised so much.

"Snake…" he spat.

The very fact that his twin brother still lived infuriated Liquid, flooding him with boiling rage so much that he had forgotten that he was sitting outside in the harsh Alaskan climate a razor edged wind blowing, and he was wearing nothing but a pair of trousers. He looked down and saw that his tanned skin had taken on a worrying blue tinge and he couldn't stop himself from shivering. It was hard to tell if his confusion was from just waking up and a result of the fighting or if it was the onset of hypothermia. Whatever the reason, Liquid had to get inside and to shelter soon.

He stood up slowly, every bone in his body ached, each muscle felt as if it had been grabbed at each end and pulled until they nearly broke. He was surprised that he didn't feel as bad as he could have been, considering he'd been in REX when it was destroyed and his plans cut short, to be followed with a punishing fistfight against Snake and a fall from the top of REX. It should have killed him with not one bone in his body unbroken. Even the battle as they escaped on the jeep and a genetically engineered virus failed to stop him; they only hindered him from getting to his goal. Much like the slight limp in his step as he began to walk to find another entrance, which would let him into the mess and storeroom and begin to think more about what to do. However, as is it stood, the plan was simple. Kill Solid Snake.

≈≈≈≈≈≈

"At last… "Snake thought, when he saw his home come into view. He slowed right down to a halt and sighed, glad that now it was really all over. Snake sat up straight in his seat and stretched. He could only guess at how long they'd been travelling for, but estimated it had been for some time. He twisted round and shook Meryl by her shoulder.

"Meryl…" he called.

"Whaaatt?" she replied sleepily "Huh, are we there?" and sat up rubbing her eyes. Snake nodded.

"We're here alright." Snake said as he got off, putting out a hand for Meryl and helped her stand. Meryl was a little wobbly on her feet he noticed and let her sit back down while he pushed the snow mobile into the garage.

"Might be worth keeping." He thought to himself. Meryl hopped off and followed him as he walked round to the back yard where the huskies could be heard barking and howling. The wind must have carried his scent toward them. He stopped and turned around with a smile.

"Well this is what I call home." Snake swept an arm in the direction of the single storey wood cabin. It was a simple kind of building but with triple glazed windows and thickly insulated against the chill. Looking in the windows the rooms were modestly furnished with the fundamentals and decorated with plain painted walls and smooth wooden floors. It didn't need to be stunning and Meryl agreed that it seemed comfortable enough.

Snake proceeded towards the enclosure gate and never noticed that Meryl waited behind. The huskies charged out of their shelter barking and howling their welcomes, tails wagging as they crowded around Snake. He looked round at Meryl, an anxious look on her face.

"Oh, don't tell me that you're not afraid of wolf dogs but frightened of domestic dogs?" he laughed. 

"No…it's just that there are so many of them." She retorted and walked forward to join him again. More of them gathered round her and Meryl knelt down to pat them. The huskies were a little uncertain of the new arrival their master had with him but since he was making no sign that she was unwelcome, they greeted Meryl.

"Want to stay here a while?" Snake asked seeing how well Meryl was getting on with the dogs. She looked up and nodded at him. Snake took a few steps away heading towards the back door before turning round to check. He was about to open his mouth and say something to her, but stopped.

"She'll be fine. Nobody knows we're here or even alive." he thought before turning back and heading indoors, picking up the keys where he'd left them. He walked into the kitchen digging in his pockets for a cigarette and lit it up with a sigh. 

"At least I don't have Naomi telling me how bad it is." he thought with a smile. There was no need to be on alert now and he returned to a more normal state. Hyper acute senses settled down. There was no need for Snake to keep watch over his shoulder and in the shadows; he was in familiar territory back home.

≈≈≈≈≈≈

Liquid sat in the storeroom having gathered up all that he thought he would need for his mission. He had patched himself up as best he could, dressing the odd gun shot wound. Anything less wasn't worth fussing over as they had patched over themselves. White combat fatigues were needed and there were plenty to be found from the remainder that had been left untouched by the soldiers. While they would give some protection from the cold, Liquid knew that it wouldn't be enough in this weather and had no intention of freezing before reaching his goal. The medical supplies he'd found had some of the anti-freezing peptide the Genomes had used and he'd given himself a shot of that. Now that he'd sorted himself out and picked some basic equipment, Liquid laid the weapons out in front of him; a SOCOM pistol complete with silencer and several full magazines, a PSG-1, painted with blotches of white for camouflage with more magazines for it. Rations, water and binoculars completed the small inventory he had selected. Liquid sat back satisfied that he'd gone over this point enough and finalised his choice. Attention shifted from the equipment back to the obsessive thought occupying his mind, always playing in the background, working out the thousandth scenario he'd devised in his head, the moment when once and for all he would cut Snake's life short. What could he do?  Would Liquid kill him quickly so he didn't realise what had happened before it was too late or kill Snake slowly, to make him suffer? Stealthy snap of his neck or a bullet in the head, to end it fast. A well-placed shot before moving in to stop him from reaching help and let him bleed to death, slowly. Liquid went over and over the library of schemes he'd conjured up over the years, waiting for the day he'd meet the brother his father had spoken of, the one who was supposed to be so much better than him. 

"Wait…" he thought opening his eyes away from the dark in his mind."Every time it has been direct attacks against Snake, and they have all failed." 

That much was true it was always Snake he was targeting. It was logical, yes because it was Snake that Liquid wanted to destroy, but nothing seemed to work. The Hind, Metal Gear REX, the fight after REX had fallen and the last chase, exchanging machine gun fire as they sped through the tunnels hadn't helped Liquid to defeat Snake. His own revulsion had blinded him, focused it and pin pointed it on Snake, but too much so that he couldn't see any other way. All the time Liquid had been fighting away and getting nowhere. At the end, Snake stood there as if nothing had happened. Liquid put a hand to his head; there had to be something he could do.

His gaze swept across the equipment he'd chosen again.

"SOCOM for close combat. PSG-1 for far away… Wolf I do hope that you don't mind." He thought. Liquid looked back at it again and touched the cold gunmetal.

"Hang on… that woman she shot… Meryl, did she not escape with Snake?" Liquid said in his head, and went through all of the blurred images locked away in his head, trying to fit a face to the name. 

"Meryl… oh yes, that one which Snake cares so much about, so much that he'll risk anything for her." He thought not seeing right away the answer. He stopped from remembering that time he paid her a visit, weeping and screaming for Snake to help her. "Anything for her?" he thought again. That was it. How could he have forgotten about the fatal flaw that separated him from Snake? The little element that made Snake less of the merciless soldier he was supposed to be.

A twisted grin crawled across his face.

"Wolf had the right idea by shooting Meryl, but she shouldn't have let her own fondness for Snake get in the way." Liquid thought. Now he'd established that Meryl was now in the equation, Liquid Snake got up and pocketed the magazines, rations, binoculars and flask of water. He holstered the SOCOM and slung his rifle over one shoulder, leaving the store behind. It was all now a case of getting there and working out exactly what he would do. He headed back to the mess and looked at the map he'd spread out on one of the tables, trying to recall where it was that Snake stayed. Snake had been so credulous when Liquid contacted him as Master Miller, he'd discovered a great deal about his twin, what he did, what he thought… all good information to use for this mission and all to his own advantage. He folded up the map, putting it another pocket and left the hall to find him a snow mobile, content that he knew where he was going. At last, it looked like he might just succeed this time round.

"Are they always so… difficult like that?" Meryl asked Snake after they returned back from outside to lock up the huskies in their kennel for the night. Snake pushed the door back against the wind which brought in with it snow coating everything in fragile white flakes. He locked it and turned round.

"No, must be you." He smiled.

"Me?" Meryl asked with a frown.

"It's just that you're new to them. Don't take it personally. They aren't used to anybody else but me being here so they might be a bit jealous of you." He explained hanging up his coat and helped Meryl out of hers before she skipped out of her boots and ran off to the living room, launching herself onto the couch taking all the space for herself. She grinned up at him cheekily.

"C'mon, my house!" Snake said with a smile, moved Meryl's legs off, and sat next to her. She looked much better now; Meryl had swapped the combat fatigues and bloody bandages for jeans and a shirt Snake had let her borrow. They didn't fit her frame very well but still she looked more like herself than the soldier she had pretended to be on Shadow Moses.  Meryl playfully punched him in the arm in protest and settled for snuggling up next to him as Snake put his arm round her shoulders.

"Snake… do you ever think about what might have happened instead? I mean, what if things worked out differently?" Meryl asked after a while. Snake looked down at her.

"Not really, maybe more about what did happen. That's more important. I'd rather not worry about ifs and buts." He replied after a moment to think about it. "What's the point, it all worked out well, didn't it?" Snake added.

"Like us." Meryl put in. Snake nodded.

"Yeah." He wasn't in the mood for analysing the mission; it was all over and Snake didn't see why it had to be brought up again. There were things Snake regretted, truths he had found which he wished he hadn't ever discovered, but then there were things that he was grateful had happened. Meryl shifted from where she sat next to him and onto his knee, her arms round his neck, gazing into his eyes. It reminded Snake so much of the time when Meryl had leapt off the top of REX and they had to leave hurriedly, with time only to share a few words between them and an embrace. Snake wrapped his arms around her, realised how slight she was. He could not understand how somebody like her could be a soldier or even take the kind of battering she'd received without breaking physically or in spirit. 

"She's so… fragile." Snake thought, a little guilt working into his mind. He felt as if he didn't really deserve this, having done all that he'd done in the past. How could she love him? Didn't she know what he did, what he was? What was it that she liked so much about him? Or was it that he was afraid? Still frightened to lay bare what went on inside him whenever he was with her?

Meryl looked back at him, an inquisitive look in her eyes. 

"Snake?" she asked. He looked up at her. He hadn't lied when he told her she had beautiful and compassionate eyes. Those eyes that had given away her identity set in her pretty face, pale and soft, belying the strength within. He admired that, wishing sometimes that he could have the kind of courage she had.

He held her close, their faces barely inches away from each other. He could feel Meryl's hand against his face, running her fingers down his temple, over his lips before they met hers, soft like her touch. Meryl moved closer to him, running a hand down his back as Snake shifted one to rest behind her head, fixed in each other's clasp. Snake sat back after a while, Meryl's eyes still shut, fluttered open and she smiled back at him, asking silently for him to begin again.

Snake held her tighter, got up from where they sat and stood with her in front of him, locked in another impassioned kiss. Meryl brought her hand from behind Snake's back to his chest, leisurely and deliberately unbuttoned his shirt, tipped her head back a little while he tenderly kissed her neck. They parted, unwillingly for a moment. Snake felt Meryl sigh, his arms moved with her body as she breathed. 

"Where does all this come from?" Snake wondered. Had it been locked away inside him until he met her? Had it even been there before meeting Meryl? Snake put the thought away; let what was going on in his heart rule rather than his head. Going by impulse had led him to saving Meryl so it couldn't be a bad thing, could it? Still Snake felt he had to ask Meryl if she was happy to follow him.

"Meryl if you don't feel right…" He began gently.

"I'm sure." Meryl replied and leaned closer towards him once more.

Snake softly took her hand, their fingers entwined, leading her gently, unhurried towards his own room. He switched the light on and shut the door behind them. He didn't bother with curtains, his mind whole-heartedly on Meryl and the emotions rushing through him. Nothing else mattered.

Meryl waited for him, patiently, still held his hand, there in front of him when he turned around again. She didn't need any encouragement to return to his arms. Meryl put one arm round his waist under the shirt, slipping it off his shoulders with the other. Snake let it fall to the floor, as Meryl placed her hand on his stomach, leaned back a little, as he reached over to undo her shirt, her spine gently curved. Meryl shrugged it off and held herself closer to his body. 

Snake was again unsure of himself to touch her; afraid he was taking advantage of her like this. Snake felt the touch of her warm skin against his own, Meryl took his hand gently and put it on her shoulder. Meryl encouraged him to run his fingers over the gentle curves of her chest. He lay his head on hers where she'd laid it against his chest as she caressed his stomach affectionately. Her fingers bobbed up and down as they went over his taut muscles, his skin tingled where her hand had just passed over. Meryl stopped at the buckle of his belt to unfasten it. Snake was expecting her to break off there, he didn't know why he thought that, but quickly forgot when she carried on, bringing her hand down to the crotch of his jeans, a pleasant feeling in his body as she undid the zip. A low groan escaped his lips. 

Snake rested his hands on Meryl's hips as she wriggled little by little out her trousers, and wound her arms around his waist after she stepped out them. Meryl reached up to kiss him again, Snake was sure he could feel the faint drumming inside her chest as she drew close to him. She relaxed in his arms; eyes shut, consenting Snake to lay her down. He slipped out of his jeans, left them on the floor, before lowering himself over her as Meryl pulled the covers over them, wrapping her legs round him while he ran his hands up from the top of her legs to her chest, following the contours of her body. Meryl cupped his face in her hands as they kissed, Snake finally accepted that there was nothing wrong with what was raging inside him as he held Meryl closer to his body.

≈≈≈≈≈≈

Liquid cut the engine, realising that the noise might alert Snake to his presence. It seemed a little over cautious, but he didn't want to throw away his chance for vengeance. He took the binoculars from the pocket he stored them in and focused the lenses through the trees and falling snow on the house some distance away.

"That should be it." He thought and put them away. It was dark, but what else could explain the single square shape of light? He got up off the snowmobile and pushed it out of the way so nobody could find it, scattering a few branches here and there to make it less obvious. The advantage of it being in the night was that they were probably not doing much and even if they were still awake, the darkness would cloak his movements, so long as he didn't make any noises to rouse their attention.

Liquid Snake put a hand down to his holstered SOCOM pistol and made his way through the trees on foot, searching for a suitable spot to set up and build a hide. A couple of minutes of probing led him to a hollow in the ground, deep enough to cover it with branches and snow and let him crawl underneath. He picked out random pieces of the flora lying around, fallen from trees and scattered them across the hollow not bothering to tidy it up, else it would look unnatural if anyone were to come this way. The falling snow would cover up any traces of his movements. He got down and took the PSG-1 off his back, slipping the strap over his head and crawled backwards into the hide, spreading more branches over the rifle making sure his view through the scope was unobstructed and the barrel of the rifle was clear for a perfect shot. He shuffled around a little to get comfortable.

"Now," he whispered to himself and took out the binoculars again. "…what are you up to, my brother?" Liquid brushed his blonde hair out of his eyes and scanned the area ahead searching for the house again. The window he saw the light shining from was dark now, another one let the light out instead. He continued watching, and saw a figure silhouetted in the light. He could barely see any features on them, but their build was enough to tell him who it was.

"Snake." He hissed. Liquid carried on watching. Snake had his arm held out, pulled it back towards himself, drawing a smaller, much slimmer, feminine figure towards him. Liquid instantly recognised that it was Meryl. His eyes widened in disbelief at what happened next. Something fell from Snake as Meryl moved closer to him, clothes Liquid guessed. The pair met to form one big shadow in the dim light, gently swaying and rocking together, their bodies' right next to each other. Liquid was fixed where he lay, eyes glued to the lenses, his mind trying to piece together what was going on. 

Something else fell from the pair, arms moved up and down, the shadow still moved back and forth. He put the binoculars down, slowly. Shock first filled his mind, slight repulsion that he had spied on them in such an intimate moment. However, he did now know what their relationship was like, and could play on that when the time came. 

"Didn't take you long to charm your way into her pants, did it Snake?" Liquid thought with a crooked smile.

Fury now flooded him; here he was trying to destroy every trace of his brother and now…

"Well… he isn't confining his genes to himself now is he?" Liquid thought. That plus a trace of malice Liquid had lurking around for his brother's good fortune in finding love, deepened his hatred for Snake even more. 

"All the more reason to kill him." Liquid thought blackly. "And all the more hurt it will cause him when I take her away from him." His mind had been made up. To get Snake, first he had to put Meryl in danger. Taking her from him and threatening to cease her life if Snake didn't come to the location that Liquid had decided on beforehand was sure to get Snake where Liquid could have some control over what happened. Having Meryl would let Liquid manipulate Snake, and furthermore if he was in a location where he had the upper hand, he stood more chance of completing his objective. 

"But then, once he's dead, what do I do with her?" Liquid thought. Although he was going to threaten Snake with her life, Liquid did hope that he didn't have to resort to that if possible. In a sense, it was to him a little cowardly to kill a person already broken and in grief, but it would have to be done if things got dangerous. One rule he'd learned was that you had to win anyway you could even if that meant fighting dirty. Liquid pushed that out-of-the-way, and waited, working out how he was going to get there to take her, resisting the temptation to take another quick look through the binoculars. 

Continued in chapter 2…


	2. Chapter 2.

  
  
  
Chapter 2.  
  
There was an unfamiliar weight against his chest, a light pressure that extended down his side, fading into the sensation of something lying next to him at his hip. Beyond that, something had wound round his legs, soft and warm.  
Snake opened his eyes, slowly adjusting to the light and looked down the bed to see Meryl there, her head against his chest, rising and falling with each breath he took. She had one arm spread across him ending with her hand over his shoulder. Looking further down he couldn't see much; the sheets began at his waist covering the rest of them. Their legs were interlaced together, wrapped round each other's, holding them close together, Snake noticed from the way the covers lay across them.  
Meryl still lay there sleeping soundly. Snake smiled to himself.  
"No surprise there." he thought, remembering fragments from the evening's activities. Right now, he couldn't sum up with words to describe last night's episode, he was too worn out to do much else but lie there and reflect upon it, found it impossible to sort through all that had gone on inside his head then. His head ached a little when he tried to work them all out and decided that it was best to leave them alone and enjoy them as they were. When it came down to it, it all traced back to his adoration for the woman lying next to him. That didn't need any explanation.  
Snake put an arm round Meryl's shoulders, careful that he didn't move around too much and wake her up, she did anyway, moving around leisurely where she lay before looking up to Snake, with dreamy eyes. She smiled, shutting her eyes, hugging him tighter.  
"Mmmmm...."She moaned. "Hi, Snake." Meryl purred, her voice soft, running her hand down his shoulder onto his chest, slow and achingly sweet, sending a thrill through him.  
"Meryl..." Snake uttered, his voice low, those feelings returned, smouldering away inside. He held Meryl close for a kiss; she writhed in delight, wound her arms round him, leaning back in his arms. Snake moved back from her after a minute or two, still cradling her, both of them breathless. He slowly lay her down, unwound his legs from hers and got up.  
"Later, okay?" he said after he caught sight of Meryl's beaming face where she sat holding a sheet over herself as she reached over the side of the bed and threw him his jeans. Snake pulled them on. The clock read eleven in the morning, and he hurried up to get ready for the day.  
"So...what do we do for the rest of the day?" Meryl asked with a stretch as she yawned. Snake paused. He hadn't thought of that, and he'd completely forgotten about the dogs; normally he was awake early in the morning, but today was different. His life was different now with Meryl in it. He looked at Meryl's clothes; the ones he'd lent her really meant for his physique.  
"Breakfast, let the dogs out and feed them, then get you some better clothes. I can't lend you mine forever." He replied after a while.  
"Okay..." Meryl said and flopped over to doze a while.   
"I'll wake you later." Snake said and left to go to the bathroom. He waited at the door a while, watched her as she slept, buttoning up his shirt. The days and nights weren't going to be as uneventful as they used to be, Snake thought with a smile.  
  
Liquid was jolted from his light sleep by a discord of howls and barks and ran a gloved hand over his face to wipe away weariness. It had only been a quick nap, and he had trained himself to sleep half-awake so that it didn't take much for him to snap awake. At a time like this, he had to. He picked up his binoculars and peered through them. Bundles of grey, brown, white and black fur charged around the tall figure, their owner, Snake walking away from them to the house, a drained look on his face and in his body language. Liquid looked at his watch; half an hour before midday.  
"Manage to drag yourself away from Meryl, Snake? Wasn't too difficult was it?" Liquid smirked.   
It would have been so easy to pick him off there and then, a shot from the PSG-1 was all it would take and he could go off leaving Snake in the snow turning it red from the leak in his skull and nobody would really know who had done it; Liquid was after all deemed dead. But something stopped him from carrying on tracking Snake; his head lined up in the cross hairs. Liquid released the pressure from the trigger and looked away from the scope. It wouldn't satisfy him enough to simply kill Snake. He wanted to make Snake suffer, make him pay for everything he had done and that started with Meryl. Bullets only hurt the body, the wounds healed eventually and you knew that they would with proper care, but a blow to one's spirit and depending where exactly you hit, could destroy somebody. Snatching Meryl from him would hurt Snake, Liquid knew that from the way Snake had reacted on Shadow Moses, speaking to him as his old mentor Master Miller. Threatening to kill her would add insult to injury.  
"I only need one bullet." Liquid thought forebodingly, that twisted smile appeared on his face again. "One for him, or one for Meryl, either way he's finished."   
Killing Meryl with Snake watching on was bound to devastate him. It was cold, it was calculating, but Liquid didn't take such things into account for anything, he just had to follow that monomaniacal drive to ultimately kill Snake. He had to.   
The timing had to right too. Sure it would work if Liquid simply took Meryl, but it could be so much better if it was timed well, amplifying the torment he wanted Snake to feel. Catching Meryl at a time such as last night, when they were at their most vulnerable and passions ran high would be the best to prove Liquid's point. He didn't care about what people felt, he only thought about himself and his goal. Snake had to learn to be more careful with his emotions and prevent them from becoming points for people like Liquid, who wanted him dead, to prey upon. But then, if all went well, Snake wouldn't be around to use the teaching again.  
Liquid watched him walk indoors and took out a ration, something to take his mind off the boredom while he waited for night.  
  
Nothing much happened for a while. An hour after seeing Snake outdoors, an engine started and a rough pick -up drew away from the house. Both of them were in it. Snake had made an attempt to hide his face, the collar of his coat turned up and eyes shaded under a hat.   
"Unusual for him." Liquid thought remembering giving him some sage advice as Master and suggested he wore something on his head during the mission, only for Snake to ask if his bandanna was alright since he didn't like hats. Meryl had her hair bunched up behind her head. Clearly, after what had happened the government would do what ever was necessary to make certain that the news about Metal Gear wasn't leaked out to the public, and that would include those two.   
Liquid relaxed, he didn't have much else to do while they were gone and he decided to take a nap. He didn't know what to expect later and he might just need to fight, conserving his energy was imperative.  
  
They drew up in the nearest town, and Snake parked the pick-up. He reached into a pocket and pulled out his wallet and put it into Meryl's hands. She looked up at him.  
"Aren't you coming?" she asked simply as she put it into her own pocket. Snake shook his head and smiled.  
"As much as I'd like to see you try on clothes Meryl, it is too risky. We're supposed to be dead, remember and who can tell if there are any government agents on the prowl to see if any news has leaked out about Shadow Moses. If there are and they see us together, they aren't going to hesitate and ask questions, or worse." He explained. Snake sighed. "I'm going to have to miss the Iditarod this year too."   
Meryl undid the seatbelt and was about to get out.  
"Just don't be too long, and don't spend all of my cash. Please?" Snake asked. Meryl grinned at him.  
"I won't!" she laughed and hopped out to walk down the street.  
Snake reached over to the glove compartment and delved in searching for the packet of cigarettes and lighter, took one out of the packet and lit it. He relaxed, keeping an eye on the wing mirrors and rear view mirror, just in case anybody was watching. He had deliberately come to this town even though it was further than the one he usually went to and knew better, so that nobody would recognise him. The next thing to do was move to somewhere else. They couldn't stay at Twin Lakes too long. If there were any signs of their staying there it would get people asking questions, especially since they had found him to rope him into the mission. But they'd fix that problem later when the time came.   
He looked again in the rear view mirror, he'd lost count of how many times he'd done that and his smoke was just about done. Snake saw Meryl walking up the street behind him, a bag in each hand, and he took a last drag on the cigarette before throwing it out the window. Meryl climbed in and put the bags at her feet and handed him back his wallet.   
"Thanks, didn't spend too much I hope?" he asked with a smile.  
"Of course not." Meryl laughed as Snake started the pick-up again.  
  
Liquid looked round on another scan of the surroundings. He heard the drone of an engine getting nearer, then quieter as it moved further away from him. Three o'clock he read on his watch. They'd been away for some time, but that was understandable seeing how far they were, tucked away, from anybody else. He put the binoculars up to his eyes, this action had become almost as natural as blinking he'd done it so much. The pair walked out of the garage and down towards him to the front door before disappearing inside.  
Liquid was fairly confident that today this evening he'd kidnap Meryl. From what he'd observed he'd managed to plot out a rough floor plan of the house in his head, which would make it all the easier later on. He would have to make sure that each of them were in different rooms. A confrontation with Snake was the last thing Liquid wanted at this point and there was no telling what would happen if he did run into Snake unintentionally. But then he did have the added advantage of surprise. As far as both of them were concerned, he'd died from FoxDie and was now an ice cube lying on the island.   
He took out another ration, refining his plan over and over again. He still had to make room for any possible occurrences, but he could quite easily work something out on the spot. That was part of being a soldier, a terrorist leader and a son of Big Boss. He'd been born to do things like that, trained over the years to distil those skills and seen enough fighting to put that into practise. He did it all without really thinking and Liquid was sure that it was his genes which made him who he was now. He didn't believe a great deal in the nurture side of the argument, preferring to side on the view that genes dictated all.  
"This is what I was born to do." Liquid said to himself, saying that phrase he repeated to himself each day, reminding himself that what he was doing was right. It was right to him that he wanted to get rid of all those who didn't fit into his ideological world of war and fighting, and all those who threatened it. People like his brother.  
Liquid sighed; he was going to be in for a long wait, but the thought that had kept him going for all those years when he would eventually destroy his twin wasn't going to fail him now for a few hours. It had festered away inside, fermenting, while he was imprisoned in Iraq. All the things he'd been told about how his brother was so much better because they had made him to be the best from his father had promoted that, warped and contorted his view in life. Liquid couldn't remember a time when he'd been happy as a child; all that had happened to him to make him the way he was had blotted that from his memory. He hadn't had a normal upbringing, going to fight at an age when other boys his age were at school doing things that normal kids did, on the verge of heading out to the world beyond. At such an age, you were still impressionable, easy to coerce, and it was that which had changed Liquid.   
He still concentrated on the single idea in his mind. It always seemed to play on and on like an annoying record you heard but couldn't get out of your head, stuck in a loop. The only way out was to extinguish the source of it all. And that was Solid Snake.  
  
It had become bitterly cold. No snow fell, but a harsh wind blew in Liquid's face, almost cutting into him. It was pitch black and he couldn't tell where the trees met the sky.   
"I should have brought night vision goggles with me." Liquid thought lamenting that he very nearly did, but at the last minute decided not to. It didn't matter too much and would have been an encumbrance he didn't need. He picked up the binoculars, but couldn't see any lights. The curtains were drawn.  
"Now what? I have to play it by ear where they are now." He thought angrily. He looked at his watch and pressed a button to light up the face. Half eleven in the night. About the same time he arrived yesterday. Liquid got up. It was time. He went back to the snowmobile and put the PSG-1 on the rack behind the saddle, offloading the magazines for it too. He stuck to the trees while he made his way down to the house. The huskies were locked up for the night; he'd watched Snake and Meryl round them up earlier, so there wasn't much risk of being discovered by them at least. The wind made so much noise as it rushed through the trees that he didn't have to worry about being heard either. Liquid undid the catch on the holster and readied the SOCOM, creeping ever closer towards them. He reached the side that the front door was on and peeped in the window frame. He peered through the gap in the curtains. There was no light in the living room he was looking into, but a glow came from the right, the front wall he'd been observing. It was too near them to prise open the window, so he slinked further up, past the door and tried that window. It was further away and he had a go at sliding the window up just enough for him to slip in. It was stiff at first, but eventually opened easily with little noise. Liquid climbed in and swept snow out of the treads on his boots. Before bringing his legs in and shut it after him. That part over, he inched his way to the door into a corridor where the light shone from.   
"What the...?" he thought hearing footsteps coming towards him. Liquid swiftly and silently dashed to the doorframe, leaning up against the wall. Soft steps got closer, swishing on the wooden floor. They walked past him and he could see illuminated by the light shining from the corridor, who it was. It was Meryl. It took Liquid a while to get his brain into understanding that this was his chance. He took one quick step up to stand behind her, and speedily put a hand over her mouth and pinned her arms at her sides wrapping his arm round her so she couldn't fight back. Meryl went rigid in shock and froze where she stood. She made no attempt to struggle whatsoever.  
"Clever girl." Liquid hissed under his breath into her ear moving away into the shadows. Now he had to wait for Snake to come looking for her.  
  
Snake pulled the plug out of the wash basin, watching the water as it drained away with a bubbling gurgle, his reflection swirled away. He reached over and dried his face with a towel before hanging it on the rail again when he was done. Snake turned away and walked back down the short corridor, past a store cupboard and his gun closet locked double. He poked his head round the door of his room expecting to find Meryl there where he had last seen her packing away her clothes or in the living room watching T.V. like she had said. There was nothing there just the empty bags in one corner next to the wardrobe and the bed, the covers all twisted and creased from the morning.  
"Meryl?" he called turning round and went to the living room. Funny, there was no light on and no sound from the television either. What was Meryl playing at? Snake smiled.  
"C'mon Meryl!" he laughed. "I know that you managed to sneak up on me twice but you don't have to rub it in." He creeped forward, hoping to make sure she didn't catch him out this time. He reached for the light switch. As it was flicked on, he felt cold metal press into the back of his head. That wasn't what he'd been expecting at all.  
"You obviously didn't learn that lesson well enough, brother." Spat a horribly familiar voice from behind him. The blood in Snake's veins froze up in them.  
"What the hell!?" Snake exclaimed, fearful of what he had just heard.  
  
"Liquid!?" he exclaimed. "You..." Snake blurted. Liquid laughed. This was so amusing for him, to catch his brother like this.  
"What? Dead?" he scoffed. "No. What did I say Snake? I won't die as long as you still live." Liquid said plainly repeating those same words he'd said to him after REX had been destroyed and all his hopes vanquished.  
"I saw you die!" Snake growled.  
"Well, I didn't did I?" Liquid shot back. "Snake," he began. "I recommend that you don't try any heroics now." Liquid stated mechanically.  
"What do you mean?" Snake asked lowering his voice. Liquid laughed again.  
"Turn round and take a look."  
Snake turned around slowly to face him and Liquid continued to point the SOCOM level with his brother's head. Snake tried to maintain a cool face, but Liquid could sense his fear for Meryl, saw the fury flash in his eyes when he caught sight of him holding Meryl in that dangerous hold, his arm wrapped tightly round her throat. All it would take to break her cute little neck was a quick, violent jerk to her head, and he could tell that Snake knew this, he'd seen him use it so many times on the Genome soldiers that had once been under his command.  
"Meryl!" Snake cried. He locked eyes with Liquid, eyebrows knitted together. "Let her go!" Liquid laughed again.  
"You know what my answer to that is, brother." Snake sighed.  
"What do you want Liquid?" he asked. Liquid went off at the deep end and tightened his grip on Meryl's throat. Meryl put her hands up to his arm, digging her fingernails into the material of his jacket as she uttered out a faint cry for Snake.  
"Don't play dumb with me Snake!" he roared. "It's exactly the same as I wanted on that wretched island! I WANT TO SEE YOU DIE, I WANT TO SEE YOU BLEED!! I want to wipe you out and break myself away from that daily torture I go through, remembering that I'm the weak one, the one who was trash from the very beginning, doomed to take second and last place forever!!" Snake was unmoved by his outburst and this fuelled Liquid's rage. But still he kept it under check and steadied his voice to explain himself.  
"Know this Snake," Liquid began trying to rein in his vehemence. "I know you. I know what you're weaknesses are and I learned from last time not to make the same mistakes. I was foolish enough to let my hate for you blind me from seeing that there are other ways to get what I want."  
"So what is it?" Snake asked angrily. Liquid laughed uncontrollably.  
"Don't you see? Or are you unwilling to admit it?" he paused and hushed his voice to a deathly whisper. "Come to me before midnight tomorrow so we may finish this. Fail to arrive before then and Meryl will die. Fail to fulfil my demands by that time and the same applies. Outer Heaven, Snake." And he began to back off, still training his gun on Snake.  
  
Snake's heart raced. This was no time to start asking himself questions, Meryl was in real danger now, and after he'd vowed to himself that he wouldn't let any harm come to her again, he couldn't imperil it by letting his mind stray. He'd raised his hands in the air and watched as Liquid continued to back off, a spiteful grin crossed his face. Liquid had really gone off the rails now in the sanity department.  
"Oh and just one last thing." He smirked lowering the SOCOM. "Just to even things up a little for me." Snake saw the gun snap up, clamped his eyes shut as he hurled himself to the side to avoid the bullet. His lips pulled back into a grimace as it struck and he landed with a bone-jerking crunch. Snake lay on the floor, stunned and unable to move at first. Liquid dashed off, unlocking the front door and let in an icy blast. Meryl's screams, crying out his name, strangled by the wind and throttlehold round her neck.  
"Bastard!!" Snake cursed as he struggled to his knees. There was no way he could chase after them in this state. By the time he had unlocked the gun closet and out the door, he'd be too late and even then Snake didn't dare shoot in this dark, not when Liquid had Meryl. He couldn't risk killing her by mistake.  
"Anyway, how can I even begin to start thinking about saving her when I'm shot?" Snake thought. He extended a hand down the right hand side of his upper body. A deep gash had been ripped out of him, the bullet mercifully hadn't lodged inside of him, but he couldn't turn a blind eye to it. Snake pulled his hand away; his palm coated in red and painfully got to his feet. Liquid had been smart in choosing to hit him there; it would hurt using his right arm for anything and he'd be slower to react on that side too, stretching torn muscles. Snake staggered slightly making the short distance to the kitchen to retrieve the first aid kit.  
"Arrgh! How could I have been so stupid!?" he shouted out loud slamming his fist into the nearest wall. He pulled off his shirt, gingerly peeling it away from where it had been stuck down to his wound with his blood. He gritted his teeth as he did so. There were so many questions screaming out in his head. Why hadn't he emptied Liquid's FAMAS into his body before they had left? How did he not die? How the hell did he find out where he stayed? Did this guy have nine lives or something?  
"I told him so much when he was disguised as Master." Snake thought. He couldn't remember telling him where exactly he stayed in Alaska, but that could have been easily found from one of the others, Campbell, Naomi, Mei Ling... they'd all believed him for being Master. Snake winced at the nipping as he carefully cleaned up round the lesion. Liquid had done his homework on Snake it had seemed too, but how? Snake himself didn't know half of his own past until Liquid told him all about the project that brought them into being. But if his files were so highly classified then how had Liquid found them?  
"No time for that." Snake said to himself putting a dressing on top of his wound and held it in place by criss-crossing it copiously with micropore tape. It was too late in the night to start chasing after Liquid now, and whatever he had planned, Snake had to be ready for it. He threw the shirt into a bin and headed off to his room for some sleep.   
"Outer Heaven? Didn't he call Shadow Moses that?" Snake thought. "I have to go all the way back there!?" Snake sighed. He could only afford a couple hours of sleep. That was providing he got to sleep.   
He lay on his back; staring up at the ceiling for a while, reached out to his side, nothing there, an empty space next to him. Why was it that whenever something began to go right in his life it was taken away from him? Meryl had been the best thing to happen to Snake for years. But once again...  
"Aww, to hell with this!" Snake shouted throwing back the sheets. "I'm going now." He'd run out of patience and there was nobody around to tell him what to do. This wasn't like the mission where Campbell was guiding him through telling him what he had to do next. It was between him and Liquid. Nothing else.   
  
Continued in chapter 3...  



	3. Chapter 3

  
Chapter 3.  
  
"Oh, for goodness sake, stop crying!" Liquid thought to himself. He'd had enough of that when he visited Meryl during Snake's torture. Then you could quite clearly hear everything, Ocelot's heckling for Snake to give in, brittle crackling of electricity and Snake's agonised yells. What attracted Ocelot to that, Liquid couldn't understand.   
He turned his attention to the huddled figure in front of him. Meryl held herself away from him as far as the snowmobile would allow; her wrists tied to the handlebars so she couldn't run off. Liquid wanted to keep watch over her, and also didn't want to have a soaking back from her weeping so had seated her in front of him. She hid her face with her arms, muted cries of "Snake" emanated occasionally from her and broke down into more wet sobs.  
Liquid sighed in relief when she stopped. He saw one eye peep out from the strands of red hair in front of her face, watery and puffy, eyelashes clumped together with tears, staring up at him. It narrowed slightly.  
"How can Snake be your brother?" she breathed.  
"Just because I am his brother does not mean that I share all the same traits as him." Liquid said simply. "Perhaps I should explain to you how." Meryl still sat hunched over, but he began regardless.  
"Did he ever tell you that our father was once the greatest soldier in the 20th century?" Silence.   
"It was during the seventies that our father, Big Boss was brought into hospital in a coma. During that samples of his DNA were taken from him and used in a secret project called Les Enfants Terribles; The Terrible Children. It was from his DNA that myself and Snake were born as an experiment to create the best soldier possible from the genes of the greatest one alive. Of course, they didn't make straight clones of him. No they weren't finished having fun yet. They decided to take two of the eggs and manipulate the genetic information in them, giving one the receive genes and all the weakest traits of Big Boss and the other one the best and strongest genes." Liquid paused, acrimony seethed into him while he prepared himself to finish what he had to say.   
"So as a result we were made. They left me to be the weakest and have that yoke upon my shoulders for the rest of my days, knowing that I was used so they could make him, my brother, Solid Snake." Liquid said his voice gradually grew louder as he spoke.  
"Explains why you look like each other, but are so different." Meryl whispered.  
"We're very different my dear!" he shouted. "Snake might be the strongest, but he is the weakest too."  
"What do you mean? He beat you and all your plans." riposted Meryl.  
"I don't have the fault he has. I didn't fall for a woman who then was captured and let that get in the way of the mission." Liquid roared. "I didn't spend a good part of the mission wallowing in self pity over you, then imploring for no harm to come to you. I didn't go back home like he did, with the woman he loves and..."   
Meryl sat up sharply.   
"Ah, so I was right then?" Liquid jeered. "He did, didn't he?"  
"Y...you...saw..." Meryl began. "You..." Meryl shirked.  
"Don't get me wrong, it was by chance that I saw you two but well... how may I put this? That gives me more reason to kill him." Liquid spat callously.  
"Jealous?" Meryl chided flippantly.   
"NO!" Liquid roared. "Don't you see? He's the one who stands for everything I hate. All that I detest. He is what is left of my past to remind me that I am pathetic. A TRIVIAL EXCUSE FOR SOME SCIENTISTS' JOKE! He stole everything before I could do anything. He killed our father before I could, taking the chance away for me to take revenge on Big Boss for always telling me I was useless, an embarrassing excuse of a son to someone so proud as him with such a legacy as his. Then he crushed my plans to redeem myself and surpass all that my father had made. If I couldn't destroy his body then I could annihilate the memory and become the unparalleled soldier of all time. Snake doesn't seem to share the family dream for a world of total war." Liquid bellowed as Meryl shied away in front of him.  
This was just one way to begin the attack on Snake. Snake had hidden all this from Meryl clearly, so this would come as a shock to her to find out about him and where he came from. Liquid sat back satisfied that he'd proven his point continuing to carve their way through the dark, the headlight casting a white beam a few feet ahead of them.  
  
Snake wished he hadn't got up so quickly, pain flared up again in the gunshot wound and up his side. He certainly would have to be careful with it.  
"Where did I put the sneaking suit?" he wondered. "I'm glad that I didn't decide to get rid of it." As he raided through the wardrobe, throwing stuff on the floor. It was much better to wear that than go in normal clothes, and far warmer too. He found it sitting in the back. Everything was there, right down to the bandanna and he quickly changed, forgetting how tight fitting it was and wrestled with it for a minute or so. Having kitted himself up Snake dipped into his jean pockets for the keys to the gun closet and a packet of cigarettes and lighter.   
"At least this time I don't have to swallow them to take them with me." Sake thought. Naomi had been rather tight-fisted not letting him take them on the mission. But this wasn't the same as the last mission. That was official, this wasn't. It was a private battle between him and Liquid to get Meryl back, they were all supposed to be dead now, even then Snake doubted that anybody would have really cared what was going on if they knew, just so long as it didn't damage the government's image.   
"I reckon I'll just need one gun for now I can get other weapons on the island." Snake said in his head as he unlocked the locks to the gun closet and picked out a HK .40 USP. He didn't really care if he was supposed to have it, and in this situation Snake wasn't in the mood for rules or anybody to tell him what to do.  
"I want Meryl back. I gave my word that I'd look after her, how can I turn my back on that and let her die?" Snake thought loading a magazine into the handgun and readied it before putting it into the holster on the side of his leg. He attached a few magazines to his belt.   
"It's true that you learn how much you appreciate something after it's gone. I guess the same could be said for people too." Snake thought to himself. He paused and stopped.   
"I love Meryl." Snake said firmly. It might have seemed to some people that he only liked her because she filled an empty space next to him in his bed, to Liquid perhaps, but Snake knew himself that was not true. To Snake, that evening with Meryl hadn't been as a result of infatuation. Rather it was indicative of what Snake felt about her.   
"I've been the cause for so many deaths... I don't want to be the one to blame for hers too. Patricide was enough. My hands are dirty enough without her blood on them." Snake thought as he paced round to the garage to haul the snowmobile out. He hunted around in the dark for a fuel can, finding it on a shelf, the sloshing noise told him there was some inside it and Snake filled the snowmobiles tank up.  
"C'mon I've gained too much to loose it all now. I have to get her back, whatever the cost." Snake thought kicking the engine into life and sped off.   
  
She did it again, wrenching at his arm in an attempt to get away. Liquid's patience with Meryl was wearing down by the second, and this was not helping one bit. They'd reached the top of the slope and stood now where all of the buildings were sitting. Meryl made another bid for freedom and Liquid felt himself pulled off his feet to fall flat in the snow. Meryl stopped realising that she was not going to get far with him tied to her wrist. Liquid got up onto his feet, brushed snow out of his face.  
"I've had enough!" he shouted at her. "Get it into your head girl, you are not going anywhere! Do that again and I won't hesitate to kill you on the spot!" He hollered heatedly and took his SOCOM in his free hand and swung it at her face. Meryl didn't make any sound when it smacked her, but Liquid could tell that it hurt. Her eyes went shiny and wet again as she fought back tears, cheek swollen up a little her pale skin scratched, blood weeping out.  
"Good, I hope that you understand now." Liquid snapped and turned her round so she faced away from him and began to walk forward, pushing her ahead of him as he pointed the gun into the small of her back reminding her that he was not bluffing.  
"I have to get her out of the way before Snake arrives." Liquid thought leading Meryl down the island and turned to go inside the base. "I want to put her somewhere where Snake can easily get into, but will find difficult to escape from." He thought an idea forming in his mind as to how he was going to capture Snake. Meryl was the snare, Liquid knew that would be the first thing on his brothers mind and knowing Snake, he wouldn't care much about anything else. And then Liquid hadn't told him what he wanted yet, so capturing him and making sure he couldn't retaliate was the only way of outlining his demands to Snake.  
"The quarters that belonged to the scientists who worked on Metal Gear are easy to break into and the corridors there are straight and narrow, so a gun fight will be difficult to fight and run from." Liquid thought. The lack of cover would let him try to get a shot in at Snake to incapacitate him enough to allow Liquid to trap him. With Meryl locked away, Liquid would then lie in wait outside to give Snake a welcoming and lead him inside.   
"Poor Meryl. Only two days she's had with him, only for it to be ended as it had started; in the middle of fighting." He said in his head, a derisive tone to his thoughts and smiled.  
  
"I thought I'd seen the last of this place." Snake thought as he slowly steered past the cliffs looking up at the top of the island. "I should have known that peace was too good to be true." Around the bend, Snake recognised the spot where he and Meryl had found the snowmobile and the steep snow covered path up to the top. Dawn had just broken, the sun wasn't up over the horizon yet, and there was a strange gloom to the sky bordering on day and night.   
"At this rate I'm never going to get a good nights sleep." Snake thought, a faint smile on his face. He climbed off the snowmobile and pushed it backwards into the little cave at the bottom of the cliff. He checked the USP and had a look at the magazine he'd loaded. Surely ten thirteen round magazines would be enough adding the additional thirteen already in the gun to give Snake one hundred forty three bullets and chances of finishing this forever.   
"If I don't get rid of Liquid he's going to try this again and not stop until he's done. There's no telling what he'll do if I don't finish him." Snake thought as he walked up to the top of the island, the USP still in his hand. Everything was pretty much as it had been when they'd left. The jeeps were still turned over, battered and covered in a thin crust of frost. There was no way they'd see any more action after that.  
"Where to start searching? I could spend the rest of the day looking for Meryl and Liquid and never find them. I haven't even been in half of the base before." Snake thought as he scanned the area around him. He walked up to one of the green military jeeps and paused while he thought about what he should do. He wasn't given much time to stay still. A rapid burst of gunfire from a FAMAS snapped out and forced Snake to jump back, the bullets sent puffs of white snow up as they hit into the ground just inches in front of where he had stood.  
"DAMN! Liquid, I should have guessed that you'd be here to give me welcoming party." Snake said to himself ducking behind the jeep. He waited again and looked up over the edge of the jeep to take a look and shot twice. He ducked again when he saw a familiar blonde haired figure whip round from behind a corner of an entrance into the base. Bullets whizzed just above his head, ringing off the metal and burst through one of the tyres, the air hissing out of it madly. Snake returned fire with a quick double tap on the trigger, this time he fired from the side of the jeep, hoping that Liquid would not expect fire from another point on the jeep and to save himself from a nasty surprise to find that Liquid had been waiting, aiming at where he'd last poked his head up from.  
Another short burst split the air, and the bullets whipped past the end of the jeep. Snake looked up again and saw Liquid run back inside out of Snake's view. He waited just to make sure that Liquid wasn't waiting to fire, but nothing happened. Snake loaded a fresh magazine. There was nothing wrong with the other one; Snake just felt better knowing that he could fight for longer if he was attacked and would not have to reload so soon. Reloading was risky at best in fight, and life threatening when it was Liquid with a FAMAS shooting back.  
Snake got out from behind the jeep and slowly made his way to where Liquid had disappeared, USP at the ready. He reached the door and leaned up next to it before peeping in. The door was open and took him down a corridor. Along it, Snake could see stores, for food he guessed. Big stainless steel cabinets and cupboards, humming of refrigerators echoed from one room. Further down on the opposite side, freezers, as if they needed any in Alaska, and next door to that kitchens with an adjoining self service canteen. He had a quick look inside, but nothing caught his interest. There were only overturned chairs and stale food knocked over from tables sprinkled along with broken plates onto the floor. A couple of dead bodies were slumped in corners and in chairs.  
"Victims of the revolt more than likely." Snake frowned and turned to head further down the corridor. A lift was all that he found at the end and Snake pressed the button at the side of the door, waiting for it to appear. There were two buttons for floors, so Snake went to the next one down. The elevator plunged downwards with a judder after the doors slid shut only to pop open again seconds later.  
"This is weird. What is Liquid up to?" Snake wondered as he stepped out of the elevator holding his gun before him, both hands wrapped tightly round the grip. The doors clanged hut behind him.  
"More corridors? This must be the dorms for the resident workers here." Snake thought as he looked up and down the long narrow corridors. He walked on; his feet slid a little on the polished floor. The snow stuck on his boots began to melt and made it harder to walk without skidding around.  
The doors had standard locks which only needed a key to open, unlike the other doors which required the use of an ID card. That made it easier for Snake to break into, as there was no guarantee that shooting the panel of an ID card reader would open it, and rather have the reverse effect. He carried on pausing at each door to listen for any sign that somebody was inside, desperately hoping that on the other side of one of them would be Meryl.   
Some of the rooms again told sorry tales of what had happened when FOX-HOUND had taken over; bullet riddled corpses lodged inside one or two of the rooms that Snake had passed.  
He went round a corner and past more rooms.  
"Huh?" he stopped and took a few steps back. "What was that?"  
Snake went up to the last door he had gone by and pressed his ear up to the door. A faint muffled cry came from inside.  
"Is it...?" Snake thought eagerly and stood back to take a kick at the doors lock. The first one shifted it a little, a second kick and the door burst open inwards.  
"Snake?" a voice gasped hopefully. Snake stepped in and saw Meryl lookup from where she sat on the floor leaning against the back wall.   
"Not so loud." He whispered. Meryl got up and ran towards him, and Snake opened his arms to hug her.  
"You okay?" he asked as Meryl flung her arms round him, gritting his teeth when her arm hit his wound. It still stung, even now.  
"Yeah, what about you and when he shot you?" Meryl asked a concerned look in her eyes.  
"Still sore and I can't move this arm so quick because of it." Snake admitted and moved Meryl's arm further up so it was above the injury.   
"Hey," Snake began when Meryl turned her head and he saw her swollen cheek. "what happened to you?" and put a hand up to touch it gently.  
"That...I tried to run away but Liquid hit me after I pulled him over and made him fall." Meryl explained calmly. "It's nothing really, Snake, don't worry about it." She added.  
"Bastard!" Snake sighed crossly and held her tight. "He didn't have to do that."   
"This is too easy. Why did I get here with no confrontation, apart from outside?" Snake wondered. "He's planning something..."  
Meryl smiled up at him, her eyes weren't quite so red as they had been when Snake had first broken in. Snake was happy to see her again, but there would time for that later, they couldn't relax yet. Snake was more concerned about getting out and making sure that neither of them, especially Meryl, got hurt. He planted a quick kiss on her forehead.  
"C'mon. Let's get out, okay." turning around and let go of Meryl. Snake looked up and down the corridor. Nothing there. He nodded to Meryl, letting her know that it was all clear to go.  
"Just stay close to me." Snake said to her and they began to walk back the way he had come. From behind them, the sound of somebody running towards them could be heard. Snake looked round, and then began to run too when he saw that instantly recognisable figure appear.  
"SNAKE!" screamed Liquid as he charged up behind them, a FAMAS in his hands.   
"Meryl, get in front of me, c'mon...RUN!" Snake shouted as they began to sprint up the long corridor. As they ran he turned slightly to the side looking back at Liquid, firing two shots from his gun. They skidded up the passageway, bullets screamed past them with the rapid chatter from the FAMAS. Snake returned fire with a triple blast and ducked behind the corner just before more bullets pelted into the wall where they had been.  
"Damn!" Snake panted. In the confusion and need to get away from Liquid they'd taken a wrong turn and were now headed away from the elevator.  
Snake popped out from round the corner firing a salvo of four shots. Liquid still ran on, and would be on them by the next volley of shots.  
"We have to run again, Meryl." Snake shouted over the noise as the FAMAS snapped out death. "Just stay in front of me again."  
"But what if..." Meryl asked. "Snake I don't want you getting shot again."  
"Don't think about it...now come on." Snake said getting up and raced off again. Liquid chased after them, not far behind.   
Snake looked back out the corner of his eye and reached back to shoot again while on the run. Every bullet missed and Liquid regained composure from avoiding them quicker than Snake had expected, raising the FAMAS up in a flash. Snake struggled to react, his mind worked faster than his body, and pain tore up his right hand side as he lifted the gun again. His injury was holding him back.  
"MERYL! Watch out!" Snake shouted and pulled her towards himself so that she may not get shot, held her tight with one arm. The FAMAS in Liquid's grasp was levelled with him before Snake could pull the trigger of his USP.   
Blood turned to ice. His mind told him to get down. His body didn't respond for a second.  
"Shit!" Snake thought plainly, no emotion to begin with then boundless dread when the FAMAS rattled and flashed behind him spewing out lead.  
"SNAKE!!!" Meryl screamed piercingly before tucking her head down against his chest clinging onto him as Snake finally threw himself and her to the floor. His left leg give way underneath him as two bullets ripped into and right through it, tearing a burning trail of hot pain. Another two went into his arm; one over the top of his shoulder and one skimmed the side of his upper arm. Snake choked on his own breath, weak all over, looked down, blood spilled out from his leg. The last of his breath was spent on screaming out in pain; eyes clamped shut, face creased up. When was the last time he'd been shot like this? Snake didn't care to remember his mind a muddle as the bullets shredded up flesh.  
He and Meryl landed with a sickening crunch.  
"S...Sna...Snake...?" she asked her voice quivering like her body, as she lifted him up onto her knee. Snake put the USP into the waistband of her jeans and shoved a magazine in her pocket.  
"Don't let him see it." Snake whispered. Meryl was ashen, her eyes wide. Snake looked down to the floor. His own blood had been smeared across the tiles, glistening in red streaks. He couldn't get up at all; his leg refused to work.  
"Snake... oh God... Snake..." Meryl cried and wrapped her arms round him. "You okay?" she whispered softly. Her hands were covered in red.  
"It's not too bad, I have to get fixed up soon..." Snake breathed putting a hand down to his thigh, his trouser leg plastered against it.  
"You sure?" Meryl asked gently. It was almost a complete reversal of things as they had happened when Sniper Wolf shot Meryl, only this time Snake was the one needing help now.   
They looked up to see Liquid standing over and leering down at them. Snake could just about make him out, arms folded across his chest, grinning.  
"Did you really think I'd let you go so easily with Meryl, Snake, and not expect something in return from you?"  
Snake gave a frosty look to his brother, he didn't wish to give Liquid the pleasure of hearing what he had to say. He wasn't worth wasting precious energy or breath on. Meryl trembled as she held him tighter while Liquid took a few steps to stand at their side and moved the FAMAS around in his hands.   
"Don't worry brother. You won't feel that shot leg for much longer..." Liquid sneered. Meryl went cold and her grip fastened even tighter round Snake. Snake was split about what was going to happen as he saw the FAMAS move up, death or knockout? He couldn't tell. A sharp blow smacked into the side of his head. Dead? Alive? What was it? Everything went fuzzy; colours ran into each other like watery paint, blurring out what he could see and faded to black. Meryl's hold felt so distant, descending into nothing.  
  
Snake's body went limp and motionless. He went out cold easily, already weakened, body in shock from being shot and loosing blood. Meryl looked up at him, staring hard, biting her bottom lip to stop it from quivering.  
"Oh now don't give me that, Meryl." Liquid sighed and threw a box to her. "He isn't going to die, not yet. Now bandage up his injuries if you don't want him to bleed to death while he sleeps." Liquid smirked. He decided not to throw in a remark about how she should know Snake's body and let her get on. He watched to admire the damage and pain he'd inflicted on his brother as Meryl ripped Snake's trousers to wrap a bandage round his leg. He let Meryl finish and picked Snake up putting him on one shoulder and grabbed Meryl's wrist, heading back to the elevator.  
"Snake...sleep well, you'll need it." Liquid thought.  
  
Continued in chapter 4...  



	4. Chapter 4

  
  
Chapter 4.  
  
  
"Urrrggh" Snake heard himself groan while he slowly but surely made his way back to awareness and opened his eyes carefully to adjust to the dim light, before closing them again at the thudding in his head. A sharp pain was at the side of his head where the FAMAS had hit him. His head was a lethargic tangle of memories, scraps of information rolling and rambled on in his mind linking together in disjointed webs. Memories played and replayed themselves like a jammed film reel. He heard Meryl screaming in his ear, going down to the floor the bullets tore through him again he could almost feel her still holding onto him when they fell, expecting her to be there in his arms when he took a look. His mind had stopped going round in circles and Snake looked about. Meryl wasn't there and Snake sighed in disenchantment.  
Snake tried to move about but his body remonstrated, decreeing that he should rest completely to let it get to work on fixing him up fully. Snake ignored this call. He looked down and saw that he didn't have his sneaking suit top on, but his left arm had been bandaged up where he'd been hit by the bullets. Snake flexed it from where his hands were tied behind him, gently, then a second time more strongly. He could move it normally but still it hurt when he did. His trouser leg was ripped open horizontally revealing another bandage wrapped round his gunshot wounds there. It smarted when he bent it at the knee, but the pain was nothing compared to what it had been when the bullets had first struck, and at least this time Snake might be able to walk. His older wound had been patched up again, a little more carefully this time.  
Snake turned his attention to where he was.  
"I've never been here before. Where am I?" he thought looking into the dull light. Light filtered through a slatted window in the door. It seemed to be some kind of cell or something, there was a metal bed frame with nothing on it and a hand basin on the wall to his right. The floor was swimming in a couple of inches of cold, murky water which Snake was sitting in, soaking wet. This place was in a real state of disrepair, the damp had caused the paint to start peeling off the walls. It smelled fetid too, and Snake could see some rats floating around in the water further away from him in the opposite corner. To add to his discomfort Snake found that his hands were tied behind his back and round a metal pipe. Boiling hot water was running through it, the heat made the skin on his back and arms prickle and burn but he couldn't move away from it. Occasionally it would leak from above and the hot water would shower onto him.  
"Liquid obviously means me to suffer here." Snake thought darkly as he bent both legs so that they were partly out of the water. He leaned forward as far as his arms would let him to avoid the pipe but water ran down his bare back in blistering streams, from the outflow which was almost as bad as the dry heat from the metal. Then something caught his attention. A scream. A woman's scream.  
"SSSSNAAAAAAAKE!!" it shrieked, wavering in the middle of his name as it increased in pitch.  
"Meryl!?" Snake whispered. He flipped around inside when he heard it again. "What the hell is he doing to her?!" Snake thought frenetically over the sound as Meryl screeched again for his help.   
"That's it!" Snake hissed and began wrestling to get free pushing himself up onto his feet while he did.  
"Meryl!" he called. "MERRRRYLLL!!" Snake roared before settling and sat back down. It ripped up his heart to hear her crying like that again, the way she had done when Wolf's bullets tore through her. The feeling of powerlessness reared its head again. A few minutes later and he heard her again, less frightened, and more questioning, asking if he was there.  
"Snake?" Meryl cried. He looked up, a little more hope that she was okay. Before he could answer the door opened, light flooded in and made him blink. The light was partially blotted out as a figure stepped into the doorway and splashing noises as they stepped in and closed the door behind them.  
"How endearing and oh so pitiful to hear that from you Snake." Liquid sneered as he stood in front of Snake looking down at where Snake sat. Snake was in no mood for playing his games and cut straight to his prime concern.  
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MERYL?!" he growled furiously.  
"I've done nothing with her...well nothing to harm her. She's fine, Snake, beautiful actually." Liquid answered with a laugh.   
"Of course you would know , wouldn't you Snake?" Liquid carried on. Snake tried to stifle his pique as best as he could, but couldn't help from letting it show.  
"What the hell are you talking about?" Snake asked crossly. He was met with a grin from his brother. Liquid paced round, his back to Snake, arms folded in his customary mannerism.  
"How might I put this? Oh, let's be blunt." Liquid mused and turned round to face him again. "I observed you for one day before I decided to take beloved Meryl hostage. And well, I didn't expect to arrive that evening and find you making love to her."  
Snake fell silent. Inside he was cringing, like something had got under his skin, living and crawling around beneath.  
"Yes. I didn't expect that, Snake, but then again I did." Liquid smiled coldly. "So..." Liquid began. "what was that for?"   
Snake still refused to talk. Instead he stared down at his bandaged leg. Anything was better than divulging his private life, especially to Liquid. Even the tight feeling in his gut threatening to bring up his last meal was more welcome. It wasn't made any better with the dire surroundings he was in.  
"What does any of this have to do with you?" Snake asked with annoyance after a minute or two.   
"IT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH ME!" Liquid roared. "You're making it harder for me to break away from the curse I was born into. I want you dead so I may forget all about you and our father, the fact that I was born to be weak and useless. How can I do that if you are spreading your genes around? SUPERIOR GENES THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN MINE!"  
"So you took Meryl, with the idea that I'd follow to get her back and then kill me just so you can be the only one left and not have me around to challenge you? Sounds like you don't like competition much. Any good at sports when you were a kid?" Snake teased brashly a grin on his face. Liquid spun round rage flashed in his eyes like some wild monster.  
"I-NEVER-HAD-A-PROPER-CHILDHOOD!" He screamed, spluttering out each word to make his point known. "How could anybody have a normal life as a child when you were told over and over again that out there, somewhere, was your twin brother who was deliberately made to be better than you? And told that from the man who was supposed to be your father?" He paused and took a breath. His voice subdued when he next spoke.  
"Each day, I thought about the day when I would finally meet you Snake, always thinking about what I'd do to you when I did." He smiled. "Now... thirty years on and here we are."   
  
Liquid brought the USP out from behind his back and dangled it front of Snake's face, one finger looped in the trigger guard. Snake tried to hide his disbelief behind a mask of serenity, but Liquid could tell from the look in his brothers eyes that he was taken aback to see it in his hands.   
"Yes, I found this on Meryl. Stupid girl had the brass neck to pull this on me and give me this!" Liquid snarled angrily, gesturing to the gash on his arm. He took it back from Snake's face and loaded a magazine into it, chambering the first round allowing Snake to watch without obstruction what he was doing  
"Snake..." he began. "you weren't hoping that she would...kill me, were you?" Liquid asked mordantly.  
"I gave it to her so that she could look after herself." Snake defended.  
"Did you? Really? How thoughtful of you." Liquid said acerbically as he got up to his feet and took a few steps away.   
"Your death or Meryl's?" Liquid barked sharply. Snake stared up at him, eyebrows raised in trepidation under his bandanna.  
"BUT YOU SAID UNTIL..." Snake began furiously. Liquid sighed.  
"I can change the rules if I want and when I want. If you don't want to play Snake I can quite easily take you out and you loose. So what do you want; give up your life and I'll leave you alone, or Meryl's? Either way I intend on killing you." Liquid explained.  
"Neither." Snake answered austerely.  
"I'm not open to compromise, Snake." Liquid spat irritably. "Thirty years of living as the best is long enough to enjoy that 'privilege'. Your time is up as the better of Big Boss's sons." He said as he raised the USP in his hand up so it was level with Snake's head.  
  
Snake's mind washed out, couldn't think of anything while he took a moment to look to calmly look up at Liquid.  
"Why is it taking so long?" Snake thought to himself, expecting the bang to ring out any second.   
A bang, then the dry, metallic ping as the casing was spat out. He shouldn't have heard that, he'd be dead before the case had even left the gun. It sploshed into the water.   
"What the...?" Snake thought. He been waiting for the bullet to smash into his skull, but it hadn't happened. Snake hadn't noticed that he'd shut his eyes and opened them again to see Liquid standing there in front of him shaking with laughter.   
"You really are twisted..." Snake breathed shaking his head.  
"No bullets, just blanks Snake!" Liquid snickered and removed the magazine from the pistol grip to throw it in his face. He put his hand into a pocket and pulled out another magazine before stepping closer to stand right in front of him again.  
"Take a good look, Snake. Real bullets..." he said showing Snake the magazine and proceeded to load it into the gun grinning as he turned away while chambering the first round. He walked away for a little before whipping round and fired on Snake once, shooting him in his right arm.   
The feeling as bullets went into his flesh had become all too familiar, but still very undesirable all the same. Snake flinched; his automatic reaction was to put a hand to it but instead made the burning worse by fighting back against what was holding his hands together behind him.  
"WHAT THE HELL?! BASTARD!!" Snake shouted furiously, mostly because he felt such a fool for letting Liquid get a kick out of duping him.  
"Do you want another one?" Liquid threatened venomously pointing the gun at him again. Snake quietened down, understanding that this time he might not be quite as fortunate with his brother's capricious temper.  
"Good. I've taken enough abuse from our father and don't need any more from you, Snake." He hissed turning his back on Snake. "I'll be back later. For now, start thinking about your surrender and your way out of this world. You still have until midnight."  
"What a...I still can't believe I'm related to him." Snake thought bitterly. The crawly feeling inside him still twisted around, Snake choked back the ill feeling as best he could. His skin creeped, but he realised that it was the warm streams of blood dripping out of the wound he had just collected, running down and assembling round the ropes around his wrists.   
It seemed as if that Liquid's revelation annulled all meaning that evening had for Snake. Suddenly it wasn't the happy secret he and Meryl kept between them anymore, relegated to merely another reason for Liquid to justify his hate for him. Another stab at making his life as uncomfortable as possible. Violated.  
"He probably told Meryl too..." Snake thought despondently. "Jeez, anything else? I don't want to know." Snake wondered.  
"I have to get to Meryl. If he's so sick to stake out and spy then who knows what he's doing to her..." Snake tried to blot out the thoughts flooding into his mind. Liquid was desperate to do anything to get Snake to succumb and that meant dealing low blows. But it was what that he didn't know, what he didn't see which was the biggest torture, and worse than any physical punishments he'd experienced. Liquid knew that hurting Meryl would do the same for Snake, and killing her would almost destroy him. Snake even knew that himself, but he hadn't expected Liquid to make an appearance again. Then again Snake had no idea what he'd do if Meryl died; he wasn't keen on even contemplating her death for fear that it might just happen. Meryl meant too much to him and he had to rescue her.  
The ropes had started to dig into his wrists and had given him pins and needles in his hands. Snake wriggled his fingers to get the blood flowing back into them and stave off the uncomfy numbness.  
"Ow!" Snake exclaimed quietly catching his hand on a sharp, unfinished edge and scraped his skin drawing blood. "Any more scratches and I will have to put in a bulk order for Elastoplasts." Snake smiled trying to lighten his mood.  
"Wait a minute..." Snake thought and moved his arms up carefully to the sharp edge again.   
"If I...yes!" The edge was sharp enough for him to begin sawing through the rope.  
"Problem is when will Liquid be back?" Snake thought and continued to hurriedly make his escape.  
  
Liquid had returned to where he'd left Meryl, in another cell further away from Snake's. She'd fallen asleep, and in a way Liquid was glad that she wasn't awake to hear the shots he'd fired earlier. It would have only meant another fight with her, Snake would start up again and he'd have to go and shut him up and Meryl too. He put the USP away and waited for a while, going over and over in his head what the next move should be. He was in for a long day providing that Snake stuck it out till the end of the day.  
"I doubt he'll give up before then. He didn't give up to Ocelot, but this is different. Ocelot didn't have any reason but his hobby and liking for torture. I'm making Snake suffer because he deserves it. He more than deserves it." Liquid thought in a baleful way as he unholstered the SOCOM he had at his side and looked at it, watching as the light played over it's black finish. It was redolent of death. Liquid could never understand why they made some weapons with a nice shiny, silvery casing. Weapons were for killing, not for show and were bound to become stained with blood if they were used. He removed the suppressor and looked again at the big bulky square shape of the handgun. At least he had time to decide on how he'd finally finish his brother, still unsure of what to do, how to make him truly pay for all that he'd done.  
"Shooting him is too easy, bit impersonal I think..."Liquid deliberated. "All these years, all those plans and I can't think of one idea..." he sighed getting to his feet after a few minutes of contemplation and headed back to where Snake was. Perhaps he would find some inspiration from him.  
  
Continued in the following chapters coming soon...  
  
  



	5. Chapter 5; Meryl.

Chapter 5; Meryl.  
  
Before I go any further with this fic, I'll drop in a little chapter which I think is quite relevant to the overall story. So far it's been through the views of Liquid Snake and Solid Snake and nothing from Meryl. Three views would be difficult to manage and would be difficult for you, the reader, to follow. But here's my chapter with Meryl. Well kind of. I'll explain. In MGS there was a song that played at the end credits called The Best Is Yet To Come. On hearing it I pretty much fell in love with it. Then when I eventually got the CD and the English translation for the song loved it even more when I could finally understand the song. While the song carries the anti-war message I also thought that the questions asked in it sounded like something Meryl would ask Snake. So as you read the lyrics I borrowed, try and bear that in mind and see what I'm trying to get at.  
  
These lyrics were written by Rika Muranaka and are not mine.  
  
  
  
Do you remember the time  
when little things made you happy?  
Do you remember the time  
when simple things made you smile?  
Life can be wonderful  
if you let it be.  
Life can be simple  
if you try.  
Whatever happened to those days?  
Whatever happened to those nights?  
Do you remember the time  
when little things made you sad?  
Do you remember the time   
when simple things made you cry?   
Is it just me  
or  
is it just us  
feeling lost in the world?  
Why do we have hurt each other?  
Why do we have to shed tears?  
Life can be beautiful  
if you try.  
Life can be joyful  
if we try.  
Tell me  
I'm not alone.  
Tell me  
we are not alone in this world  
fighting against the wind.  
Do you remember the time  
when simple things made you happy?  
Do you remember the time  
when little things made you laugh?  
You know  
life can be simple.  
You know  
life is simple.  
Because  
best thing in life is yet to come.  
Because...  
best is yet to come.  
  
  
Chapter 6 continues the fic...  



	6. Chapter 5; Solid Snake

Chapter 5; Solid Snake.  
  
Snake felt the ropes give as the last few strands broke when he tugged his hands away and pulled the remainder off his wrists, now rubbed red raw from the friction. But they were the least of his worries.  
"I think I can squeeze in easily." Snake thought looking up to an air duct. He took the bed frame and dragged it closer to where the grate was to give him a step up. It was fixed from inside so all he had to do was push upwards making sure that when the grille came away it didn't fall about inside the vent. The noise would resonate through the whole ventilation system and could be enough to bring Liquid back here.  
Snake reached up and pulled himself into the gap carefully, arms stinging fiercely while he did. Once he was inside, he replaced the grate and got down onto his belly. The only way was forward, behind him was a dead end.  
"This place... yuck!" Snake thought to himself. He'd only been in for a few seconds and already he was covered head to toe in dust and dirt. Clearly, by the state of these air vents and the cell he'd just broken out of, nobody had been in this area for some time. Snake was just beginning to notice the burning in his back and arms where they'd touched the pipe. He had no idea of how long he'd been gone stuck in unconscious limbo, maybe hours. Still that didn't matter to Snake as he crawled forwards.   
"I just want to get the hell out of here." Snake thought firmly as he came up to the first exit. He glanced in but could see nothing except for bare shelves, some cleaning equipment in the corner and not much else. The next one further along yielded very much the same. All Snake could do was carry on round the bend and into a T-junction and took the left turning, moving further away from where he had originally started from. A minutes worth of crawling rewarded Snake with just one more exit.  
"All this way for one? Meryl's got to be here." Snake thought as he inched forward to peep in. He didn't have high hopes, for all Snake knew, Meryl could have been in a totally different area and her screams could have easily been a trick from Liquid.  
"Wait a second..." Snake said to himself and looked from the other side of the grille so he could see the other side of the room.   
There she was. Lying curled up on her side, back against the wall sleeping, trying to forget what was going on around her.  
Snake said nothing as he went about prising the metal away to let him in. There was no telling when Liquid would find out that he was gone and Snake had to work quickly. Eventually the grate came away in his hands and Snake slipped out, holding the edge of the duct and put his feet out first and dropped down to the floor gritting his teeth while he did, landing on his shot leg, swearing under his breath in pain. He turned round and knelt next to Meryl, still sound asleep.  
"...Meryl..." he whispered softly shaking her shoulder. Her eyes snapped open and her fist came up, flying right for Snake's face. Snake didn't have time to react and couldn't believe what was happening. Meryl's unexpected blow knocked Snake off balance and he fell back from where he was kneeling.  
"Wow!" Snake thought lying flat on his back and put a hand to his face, his nose bled a little. Meryl shuffled to her feet, gasped and walked to his side.  
"Oh! Snake!! Snake, I'm so sorry...I really didn't mean to. I..." Meryl apologised as Snake sat up again.  
"Let me guess. Mistook me for Liquid?" Snake smiled. Meryl flushed a faint pink from where she sat in front of him.  
"Ummm...yeah." She giggled.  
"It's okay, but that was some punch." Snake said and got to his feet.   
"It's just nice to see you again and know you're okay, Snake." Meryl said gratefully as he took her into his arms.  
"I wanted to get here earlier. I wish I had." Snake added forlornly, looking away.   
"But that wasn't your fault. Don't feel bad about that. Snake, you can't be around to help all the time. For anyone." Meryl said soothingly. "It was... it was..." she began slowly. "Oh...Liquid was still mad at me for shooting him earlier." Meryl explained at last.  
"I know I had to... to get away but... I wish I hadn't." She said softly. Snake frowned.  
"What do you mean? Meryl you did what you thought was necessary. He was holding you hostage. What does he expect?" Snake said with a shake of his head.  
"I know, but he..." Meryl's voice died away. "...he... Snake..." and her face into his chest. Snake was about to ask her something but the feeling of Meryl's warm tears as they ran down him told him not to.   
The sleeves on Meryl's blouse had ridden up to reveal her forearms.  
"What the?" Snake muttered under his breath when he saw the red marks dotted all over her arms as if someone had dug their nails in to stop her from fighting back effectively. He took another glance.  
"No... this isn't my imagination, is it?" Snake thought, Meryl still huddled up in his hold.   
The scars were still there when he looked.  
"...Meryl..." Snake sighed as he ran his fingers through her red hair, rocking her to and fro to try and set her mind at rest.  
"No, he couldn't have..." Snake thought reminded of when he'd heard her crying out and then Liquid. Snake could barely bring himself to imagine what he'd done to Meryl.  
"Torture; probably, almost certainly. Assault; likely. But..." Snake shut his eyes and held Meryl tighter. "but...not rape... surely?"   
Snake looked back to Meryl. "But that wasn't your fault." Snake played back in his mind.  
"But it is. This whole thing is because of me. Why did you have to get dragged into all of this, Meryl?" Snake thought wretchedly. He knew that he wasn't all to blame, but still the guilt he felt overrode that knowledge.   
"Was that the 'shame' you talked about the last time?" Snake pondered as he twisted a strand of her hair round his finger into a tight curl and let it spring back into place. The admiration he felt for her spirit came back, that inner forte she kept veiled, just about broken, Snake guessed.  
Snake felt ill; a real deep loathing for the man who was supposed to be his brother and twin linked by genes, the heart of what made them, them. Before, Snake had seen him as the enemy, the one who had to be killed because his orders deemed it so. Snake had not really hated him, maybe slightly in the last few fights, against REX and in the fist fight, but never this much. This time Snake wanted him to die. No question about it.  
"I have to kill Liquid. If it isn't to find peace and escape from here, it's to forget that this happened and make sure it never does again."  
  
Liquid didn't feel like visiting Snake right away and went back to his quarters set aside for FOX-HOUND when they'd been enlisted in to the project. Of course that had been before anybody had any idea of what Liquid had planned to hijack the island and Metal Gear REX. They'd been posted on Shadow Moses weeks in advance to the test launch, and Liquid had taken with him a few items. Little mementoes he'd gathered from the many successful missions he'd been on after his release from Iraq. The odd spent bullet case from various weapons down to a pair of beaten dog tags bearing his name. But Liquid didn't recognise that name. It meant nothing to him, that person had died years ago and in his place was this person wracked with hate, angry at the world and two people; his father Big Boss and his twin brother Solid Snake.  
"What's this?" Liquid said. "I don't remember ever having this..." and from the heap of souvenirs he'd tipped out onto the floor, picked out a combat knife still in its original sheath. He had a look at it, a crisp swishing when he removed the blade from the case. It was a broad blade, the metal bright and absolutely immaculate, unsullied with blood, pure with no deaths to its tally. The back edge was serrated, the cutting edge keen enough to split hairs on. Liquid held it up to get a better look at it. Deadly grace in its form.  
Liquid couldn't remember how he had come across the weapon. Maybe a gift from another mercenary, long lost, but maybe this was a sign. Perhaps things were taking a turn for the better for him. It gave Liquid a little more confidence and belief in himself after it had been reduced to nothing after what he'd been preached as a boy.  
"Well, well, well." He smiled. "I think it's time to get your first and only kill. A baptism in Solid Snake's blood." And put it back into the case before attaching it to a loop on his belt. Liquid couldn't think of anybody else worthy of sharing the honour of being killed with the same weapon he'd use to kill Snake. And why should he? It would only stain the memory to use it again on a lesser enemy.   
He left the room and headed back towards the derelict corridors, crossing over a wide walled in area much like the snow field that he had crashed the Hind-D near and through another heliport. There were containers stacked up all round. Beyond that another blast furnace, far bigger than the one closest to the snowfield. It was a multi-leveled facility with numerous walkways and platforms; this was where to Liquid's knowledge the parts for REX had been made. This was however not of interest to him right now and he made his way down back to where he'd imprisoned Snake just next door.  
Liquid took the bunch of keys from his pocket and searched through for the one he needed, methodically tried a few before he found the right one and unlocked the door.  
"Hello..." he began and then the grin faded from his face. Snake was nowhere to be seen Liquid wasn't interested in how Snake had escaped. He'd escaped and that was what mattered right now.  
"What!? GONE!! He can't!" Liquid growled to himself. He stood still for a moment. It was quite obvious where Snake had made a bee-line for.  
"Meryl." Liquid thought furrowing his brow in irritation before he dashed back to where he'd left her, SOCOM in his hand. Returning back there, he hastily unlocked the door and walked in. Sure enough his brother was there with Meryl in his arms, her face hidden from him.  
"Well something went right for a change." Liquid thought listening to Meryl's abating sobs. Snake looked up. Liquid saw something in his brother's eyes he had not seen before; real enmity for him.  
  
Snake saw Liquid lower the gun and return it to his holster. Snake watched not sure what to make of this gesture.  
"So," Liquid began. "you clearly didn't like being alone."  
"I guess you could say that and I didn't like to think that you were tormenting Meryl." Snake growled and hugged Meryl a little tighter arms wrapped round her compassionately. He was loath to say exactly what he meant, and was sure that Liquid was smart enough to work it out for himself. Liquid chuckled.  
"I think you know that it was a little more than torment. Snake, you've gone soft like everything else in this world." He drawled scornfully.  
"Just like any other human being, Liquid, I value my life and of those I care about." Snake replied calmly. Liquid glowered at him disparagingly.  
"Human we are not, Snake. You didn't hesitate to kill my comrades or the soldiers under my command how can that be human? Or are you a killer with a conscience? I thought that was what they were trying to avoid that in the project."  
"It's always back to that." Snake sighed. He was tired with hearing how they'd been brought to existence. "I don't care if my genes say this or that about me. I can make choices for myself without referring back to them for guidance as to what I should do like some religious book. It's called 'living' Liquid, try it some time." Snake answered firmly.  
"I'll be true to my heritage, unlike you Snake who seems to be ungrateful with what you've been gifted with and renegades against what is our destiny. To bring this world back from it's knees and restore it to what it used to be, fighting, and at war where people like us have a part to play in shaping the future. You don't deserve to live for that reason or live to get a share when I realise our fathers dream. I can't begin that until you die." Snake smiled.  
"And how do you plan on doing that, all by yourself? FOX-HOUND is gone and so are your Genome soldiers." Snake asked. Liquid folded his arms and Snake was sure that Liquid pouted like a spoilt child while he did so.  
"I have contacts..." he retorted. Snake laughed.  
"So you say." He said with a shrug of his shoulders. "But you can't get my life so easily." Snake paused. He'd had an idea on how he could get him and Meryl out of this alive. It was a big gamble, but he'd made such wagers before.   
"Plan? All I know is that I'll fight Liquid and try to kill him. Not much of a plan!" Snake thought before speaking. He looked up and began to put forth his plan.  
"If you want it so badly you're going to have to fight me for it." Snake stated plainly. Meryl looked up at him.   
"What!?" Liquid choked in bewilderment. "You're asking that we fight to the death?!" he chuckled. "Snake, you're in no state to fight let alone survive."  
"Snake...don't..." Meryl whispered to him. Snake looked at her. Yes, he was injured far more than his brother, but Snake had to. It went against his nature to simply put his hands in the air and surrender without trying to fight. And fighting Liquid seemed to be the only chance Snake had right now of killing him.  
"Meryl, I've been up against enemies a hundred times better armed and won. I can't give myself and you up just like that...it's just throwing away all that I had fought for before." Snake answered and looked round to where Liquid had been.  
"Hey! Where'd he go?" and looked up the corridor to catch a glimpse of Liquid as he ran away. Meryl clung onto him trying to passively stop him from going after Liquid. She eventually let go after realising that Snake's mind was made up.  
"Come on. It looks like that its now or never." Snake said to himself. Meryl followed, walking slowly. She tried to hide the fact that she was against him fighting, but smiled anyway.  
Snake opened the door and the wave of heat hit him from the blast furnace. He walked in and almost right away felt the effects of the temperature, breaking into a sweat. Snake was not sure if it was down to the heat or his slight anxiety. The furnace was dimly lit and unnatural shadows cast all over the place with the luminous glow from the molten metal in the pit in the centre of the furnace lighting everything with an orangey light. Snake climbed the stairs, limping a little. First level there was nothing. Second and Liquid stood in the middle of a wide platform leading off to the other side of the furnace across a walkway spanning the pit to more stairs leading higher upwards.  
Liquid stood there steadily and he threw aside his coat, grinned and took off his gloves to fight.  
"Well?" he began and put a hand on his hip. "This is what you wanted Snake..."  
Snake took a fleeting glance at Meryl while she waited down at the ground level.  
"I wonder, did those scientists ever think that someday this would happen, a fight between us?" he thought.   
"One last look..." and his eyes flicked in their sockets to see Meryl. "Last? Who said it would be? I can't die here. I won't!"  
Snake looked back at Liquid, flexed his fingers a few times before clenching them into fists at his sides.  
  
At last, they were more or less on equal terms, but there was one thing that divided them; their genes. Liquid believed himself to be the lesser of the two. It was this weakness which he had no control over and his brothers strength which frustrated him to the point where he just had to kill his brother. There was no doubt in his mind, just the single thought and the twisted, blackened loathing embedded in his heart which seemed to flicker into life whenever he even just heard the name Solid Snake. Killing, destroying him so that nothing remained would at least bring Liquid Snake some peace.  
"At least then I can be counted as the strongest when he dies." Liquid thought coldly.  
There was silence while the pair regarded the negative copy before them. A quiet battle ran on between them as they stared at each other, searching for a possible fault in their enemy before the fight commenced.  
Liquid looked at the figure before him. Bandaged and battered. There was no way Snake could survive, but if this was what he wanted then so be it.  
"Well, are you ready?!" Liquid shouted. Snake said nothing, continued to stare right at him before running towards him with startling pace for somebody who'd been shot only a few hours ago. They circled round a few times before Snake decided to strike the first of many blows. Snake changed direction, pulled back his right arm, and let it fly forwards. Liquid saw it coming but it still caught him on the cheek. Liquid shifted, swayed to his left, and retaliated with a punch into Snake's face. Snake tried to counterattack but Liquid batted it aside and returned with another punch to his face. Snake stumbled but regained his balance and came back with two punches, landing one into his gut. Liquid caught Snake's hand and twisted his arm round behind his back and pushed him forwards into the wall.  
  
Burning ripped through his left arm. Snake ground his teeth together before deciding to wrench away from Liquid even though it meant more pain. Snake got out of the lock and kicked out to knock Liquid in the ribs. That hurt him.  
"You...!" Liquid snarled putting a hand to his side before he sprang forward hammering into Snake with punches driving him back. Snake managed to fend them off but was let down by his injuries and his guard diminished under the hail of punches. It only took two solid punches into his face to send him stumbling back.  
  
"Now's my chance..."Liquid thought seeing that Snake had left his leg exposed. And kicked out digging the toe of his boot into Snakes thigh, right on into the wound. Snake shouted out eyes screwed up and his face flushed, breaking into a new sweat. Snake still stood but his face told Liquid that it had hurt him badly.   
"What's wrong?" Liquid goaded, grinning. Snake looked up.   
  
Snake felt the adrenaline take hold and flew forward punching into his brother's face. Liquid stepped back paused for a second a hand to his face. Liquid recoiled, and then leapt forward. Snake clamped his eyes shut as the punches landed and felt blood surge out of his nose. Second punch, a salty taste in his mouth as his jaws were snapped together with the blow and he bit his tongue. A third punch and he was down. His injuries were beginning to hold him back. Liquid laughed behind him as he struggled to his knees only to feel a stabbing in his back. Snake gagged, the wind knocked out of him, spat the blood out of his mouth. He got to his feet again and faced Liquid.  
  
"Still want to fight?" Liquid asked with a grin. Snake rushed forward and Liquid blocked the punches, one got into the ribs he'd fractured, crunched inside him.  
"THAT'S IT!" he roared and lashed out at Snake. Snake fell back putting too much weight on his weak leg to get away from him. Liquid pulled him up round his neck and slammed him into a metal girder which stood in the corner of the platform to help support it.  
  
The metal rushed towards him, Snake moved to put his arms up in front of his face. Liquid picked him up again and shoved him harshly into the girder again. He slipped down; breathing hard, to the floor, forceful stabbing in his side as Liquid kicked him when he was down, interrupting his effort to breathe again.  
  
Liquid backed off, stood with his arms folded watching as Snake battled to his knees, blood running from his nose and down his face. He stood up as tall as he could, regaining that fighting stance. Liquid couldn't believe that Snake was not going to concede defeat. He ran along the walkway to the other side of the facility, Snake shambled after him and then broke into a sprint. Liquid was not ready for Snake's attack and found himself running backwards while Snake smashed his knuckles into his face while he ran. Liquid stepped aside when they came near a wall, Snake had no time to pull back his fist and it crunched into the concrete.   
  
"What the!" Snake thought shaking his left hand. The skin over his knuckles had split open but nothing was broken. Liquid stood behind him laughing, blood and sweat stuck his hair to his face, still grinning back where he stood in a corner.  
"Big mistake!" Snake shouted as he charged forwards and shoved Liquid into the railings. Hands wrapped round each others throats. Snake looked over Liquid's shoulder. A platform below. The vision was blacked out when Liquid struck a low blow, bringing his knee up sharply between Snake's legs. Snake couldn't shout, partly out of sheer shock and indignation and bit his bottom lip to stop himself from crying out, screwing his eyes up while he did and felt his face burn red. That had hurt far more than any other punch Liquid had thrown. His eyes opened again, surprised that his hands were still round his twins throat, who tried to laugh through the choke hold.  
"Hope Meryl didn't see that." Snake thought digging his fingers into Liquid's neck looking to block off his jugular.   
"HEY!" Snake shouted out his voice strangled as Liquid heaved him up over the rails. A manic look in Liquid's eyes while he lifted Snake up. Snake hung on hoping to pull him down. He put one foot under where the rail and platform met and pulled back dragging his brother over before loosing his footing. Liquid was pulled down with him. Snake didn't realise what had happened until he saw Liquid falling too and looked down to the ground rushing up.  
"!" Snake thought and pulled his arms over his head before landing with a sickening cracking noise.   
  
Liquid got up, he was relatively unharmed after landing on Snake, lying on the concrete on his side. Snake lay there fighting with himself to get up.   
"Where's my gun?" he thought looking round reaching down to his side. No SOCOM? The USP was gone too. Snake battled to his knees.  
  
Snake looked up from where he lay. Liquid had lost the guns he had and couldn't find them. Instead he put a hand behind his back and in the light Snake saw a shiny metal object in Liquid's hand. Snake scrambled to his feet as quickly as his body would let him and faced Liquid as he walked towards him. Suddenly Liquid rushed up to him. Snake stepped aside to avoid him but failed to turn round swiftly enough to face Liquid. Muscles tightened round his throat, Snake had never imagined this happening, somebody with the bravado to use that move on him.  
"Liquid must really want me dead..." Snake thought as he put up his hands to ease the grip off. The hold constricted even more. Snake rasped, no air could get into his lungs. He tried hitting back into Liquid with his elbow. Nothing happened. The hold round his neck persisted.  
"What the..." Snake thought, when he saw the blade come up. He couldn't start to panic, not now. Mind raced. If he did he'd die. Throwing Liquid over his shoulder was risky and might bring it to a swift end, but Snake tried anyway. Liquid flew forward and let go.  
"Two can play that game!" Snake shouted charging forward and attacked while Liquid found his feet. Punching into his brother's ribs over and over again. Liquid gasped with each strike, unable to defend himself, unarmed now. Snake couldn't stop. For this moment he'd lost all control. He didn't care that Liquid was screaming to stop, not after what he'd done and said. Snake carried on until something caved in underneath his knuckles.  
  
Liquid hollered out loud, an overwhelming stabbing in his chest. He tried to suck in air but instead wheezed painfully, bent double, his arms wrapped round himself to squeeze the pain out. He couldn't believe it; the fracture had given up and broken, puncturing his lung. Snake stood back. Liquid couldn't speak to express his fury and lurched forward.   
  
Snake stepped back from Liquid as he fell to the floor. He was still alive, but not for much longer, he'd eventually die from his injury; the pain or loss of blood would kill Liquid. Snake's foot hit something. He bent down to pick it up.   
"My USP?" he whispered and looked over to his brother staring back. Snake turned and cocked the hand gun.  
"You'd point a weapon at your own..." Liquid began, his voice laboured and indiscernible as he repeated those words he'd said to Snake once before. Snake didn't give him time to say the last word. He raised his right arm to level the gun with Liquid and shot once.  
"...brother?" Snake finished. "I didn't think you were even though we have the same father. How could you be after what you've done?" Snake breathed and returned the USP to his holster. Snake was fixed to the spot.  
Snake failed to notice the sound as Meryl stormed along the walkway above, calling out for him, he continued to stare down at where Liquid lay dead.   
"...Snake...?" Meryl asked quietly as she carefully approached him and put a hand on his shoulder. He turned round to face her, a blank expression on his face as he walked away and hobbled up to the stairs to sit down. His whole body had been drained of every ounce of energy he had and Snake wasn't sure what to think. He rested his arms on his bent knees and lay his pounding head on them. Meryl sat next to him and handed him the rest of his sneaking suit.  
They didn't speak for a while and then Meryl piped up.  
"I should have helped..." she apologised. Snake looked up.  
"No...it's okay...I should be saying sorry for getting you into this mess." He replied quietly. Meryl gazed back at him, an apprehensive look on her face.  
"I'm not sure about you though. You sure that you're alright?" Snake looked down at the floor. He should have felt something, but then could only feel happy that the nightmare was over, light remorse for killing his kith and kin and ecstatic with his victory, a horrible confusion spliced with the pain from his battered body. He'd won. He was alive. Meryl was alive. But something still nagged at him.  
"This is Zanzibar all over..." Snake said. "Now they're all dead, my whole 'family' because of me..." and shook his head.  
"You mean Big Boss and Liquid?" Snake nodded. "You think he's... dead?" Meryl asked nodding towards Liquid's body.  
"I sure hope so." Snake said walking up to stand next to where Liquid lay. He had to be dead. Nobody could survive being shot in the head like that.   
"Then again, you can never tell with Liquid." Snake thought. "I shot him down in the Hind, destroyed REX with him in it, knocked him off to his death, shot him with a machine gun while we escaped, he survived the crash and FoxDie... now this. I doubt it. But then if he does have nine lives he only has two left..." Snake thought and readied the USP before firing two rounds into Liquid's back, more blood rose up and out onto the floor. Snake took no pleasure in doing it and turned round when he was done. He looked back to see Meryl there.   
"Why do I do this?" Snake wondered questioning why he put himself through all of the fighting. Then again, this fight had been for a different purpose. It wasn't just a simple hollow order he had been given to carry out somebody's dirty work or to save the world and a million people who would never know what happened to threaten their existence. The person he had saved knew what he'd done and put himself through to get them back and why he did it. It didn't feel so bad to know that his efforts and the things he'd done, good and bad weren't wasted.  
Meryl smiled and held up his sneaking suit. Snake took it from her and pulled it on looking and feeling a little better.  
"C'mon I've seen enough of this place." Snake eventually said to her.  
"I've seen enough of him too." Snake thought as he scanned the blast furnace for a way out. He found the exit on the fourth level and began to climb the stairs. Meryl followed.  
Snake raised a hand to shade his eyes, Meryl held his other hand, their fingers interlocked. Snake looked down at their clasped hands, wondered why it was that before he had never let anybody get close to him, to know him aside from the legend, portraying him as a killer through and through. Perhaps it had been because of hiding away from the people who'd caused so much hurt before; moreover he'd run away from himself to get away from what had happened in Zanzibar, to forget that he was one of Big Boss's sons.  
"Snake?" Meryl asked waving a hand in front of his face. His mind had been wandering again. Snake smiled and turned round to face her, held her in a tight hug.   
"C'mon, you wanna go home now?" she asked with a smile.  
"Home?" Snake thought. "She's calling it 'home'?" A signal that Meryl wanted to be with him and in his life.  
"It won't be for much longer though." Snake said to her. Meryl looked up a frown on her brow.  
"What?"  
"Now would be a good time to move away from Twin Lakes and go somewhere else." Snake paused. "It would have happened sooner or later, and we can't stay there forever."  
"We are supposed to be dead too." Meryl laughed. Snake smiled.  
"I feel like a change too." He sighed. "Everything has turned right round, full circle, since the mission. Since meeting you, so why not change scenery?" Snake added slowly, thinking of what to say. The home he had in Twin Lakes had been bystander to many a sad day when he had hidden himself away with his bleak outlook for. Why blight what he had now with memories like that?  
Meryl looked up at him, smiled again. He reached down, a hand on her cheek, held her closer for a warm kiss, reminding himself again why he was so prepared to jeopardise all for her. Meryl pulled back from him an impish smile on her face.  
"Later okay?" she grinned saying what Snake had said to her a day ago that first morning. Snake laughed to himself.  
"Better find that snow mobile then." He answered and they walked away to search for a way back there.  
  
It was so much like before the last time they'd left the island behind. Snake hauled the snow mobile from where he'd parked it and looked over to Meryl where she stood.   
"Your turn." He said gesturing to the seat. Meryl stared back.  
"Me?" she asked. Snake nodded with a smile. "Sure?" Meryl added.  
"Of course." Snake insisted and sat down, let Meryl sit in front of him and put his arms round her waist.  
"Any excuse..." Meryl sighed with a smile looking back over her shoulder at him and started the engine up.  
  
  
  
Now the Last Word...  
  
  
  
  



	7. Chapter 5; Liquid Snake

Chapter 5; Liquid Snake.  
  
  
Liquid Snake paced down the corridors while he went through the bunch of keys searching for the one to Snake's cell. He holstered the SOCOM for he didn't have much use for it just now and Snake was tied up. Liquid came to the cell and turned the key in the lock.  
"Break his neck... beat Snake to death?" he thought darkly. "I'll know when I see him." It always seemed to be like that. Every time he saw Snake, his hatred seemed to come alive like some creature living inside him. It was a part of him though and not some separate entity, as much a part of Liquid as the hands holding the keys to unlock the door to his twin and all that he loathed. He stepped into the tiny room quietly. Snake hadn't noticed and Liquid slammed the door making Snake jump from where he was slumped down in the corner. Liquid felt a smile cross his face as Snake looked up wearily.  
"Hello dear brother." Liquid grinned. Snake frowned.  
"Cut the crap Liquid." Snake said and heaved a sigh. "What do you want now?"   
"Some inspiration that's all. A few ideas to help me work out..." he stopped and crouched down at Snake's side. Snake's slight movements where his wrists had been tied had caught his attention.   
"What..." he thought eyes narrowing in suspicion. "these ropes are worn. You've been trying to escape... FROM ME?!" Liquid stood up quickly and kicked his twin sharply in the ribs.  
"I'm not going to allow you to escape! NOT THIS TIME!!" he bellowed furiously and continued to kick Snake viciously. The hate inside had sparked and taken hold of him like wildfire. It didn't matter that Snake couldn't protect himself. Nobody had protected Liquid from the torment he was put through when he was young so why should Snake have any? Liquid stood back, Snake still appeared to be no worse.  
"WHAT IS IT WITH YOU!?" Liquid screamed heatedly. "Don't you feel anything at all?! Even pain?" and turned away. Snake didn't answer. Liquid decided to punish him for his ignorance and whipped round, raising one foot off the ground and stamped it down onto Snake's shot leg. He got the response he had wanted, Snake screamed out, his body jerked with pain.   
"FEEL THAT DID YOU?" Liquid laughed and took the SOCOM in his hands kicking Snake in the stomach a few times. Liquid pointed the gun down at Snake's wounded leg over where he'd shot him before. He grinned as Snake stared up, eyes wide open.  
  
His heart was hammering so his body could cope with this wave of punishment, even harder when he saw the SOCOM. It skipped a few beats when Snake looked up to see his brother grinning, the gun's muzzle hovering above his wounded leg.  
"Oh no! DON'T...!!" Snake pleaded his last word tore up into a roar. Excruciating pain when shredded flesh was ripped up all over again with the bullet. Snake screwed his eyes up throwing his head back to hold the tears back. He hadn't cried for anything in a long time and there was no way he could let Liquid, of all people, see how much it hurt. Snake had clamped his eyes so tight even they were sore. More was heaped on him as Liquid began to kick into him. Dull thuds sounded through his whole body shaking him to the bone.  
"This isn't happening to me... it has to be somebody else." Snake thought distantly while the assault continued. Snake looked up, eyes and mind told him to raise his arms, but they said otherwise, pinned behind his back. He couldn't soften the blow to his face and was reminded that this was really happening to him. Snake felt his nose almost explode into a bloody stream down his face, bruises appeared instantly. Something hard rolled about in his mouth with salty tasting blood. Snake peered up with unclear vision from the force of the blow making out the shape of his brother standing there laughing. Over his brother's sniggers, Snake heard Meryl crying out to him again. He didn't have time to even feel fear for Meryl when Liquid booted into his stomach, choking, spluttering, and spitting out the blood and his lost tooth. Snake caught a brief glimpse of dull black metal in Liquid's hand. The SOCOM was lifted up from the holster and swung down in an arc to strike him across his head.   
"...Here we go again..." Snake thought with resignation. Too weak to resist, Snake blacked right out.  
  
Liquid returned his SOCOM to its place at his side and stooped to untie Snake, replacing the frayed rope with new bindings.  
"Where to put him now?" Liquid wondered as he dragged Snake through the cell and into the corridor, wet streaks of water and blood on the floor. Liquid sat his brother up against the wall and watched him for a second. Contemplating. Plotting. So much he could do with him. Years of waiting, dreaming of this day and he was struggling to choose just one. Snake's head had tipped forwards so that his chin rested on his chest, a mess of crimson where blood dripped from his nose and meant that he wouldn't come to a premature death by choking on his own blood. Liquid looked up and inhaled sharply in irritation.  
"Is that girl ever going to stop shouting?!" Liquid sighed angrily and stormed off to where he'd locked Meryl up, taking the key from his pocket while he did. He unlocked the door and threw it open, striding up to her.  
"Look Meryl." he growled. "Snake can't hear you right now so I'd save my breath if I were you."  
"You didn't kill him, did you?" Meryl asked edgily, raising her fists to attack. Liquid only smiled and lowered his arms to his side.  
"Go on...take your best shot." He goaded. Meryl looked at him out the corner of her eyes. He caught her punch just inches from his face. She was quick but not quick enough for him.  
"Too slow!" he laughed. "What's the problem? Is it because I look like him?" Liquid grinned. Meryl had backed herself up into a wall. She squirmed around against his hold and stopped, realising that even though she was strong, Meryl was not strong enough to fight back against him. Liquid stood in front barely inches away from her.  
"Of course you never said which Snake, Liquid or Solid, you wanted to see." Liquid said to her with a smile. Meryl wriggled trying to hide in the wall itself and looked away from his stare.  
"You know who I meant..." she said quietly. "and it wasn't you, that's for sure."  
"Ooh..." Liquid cooed. "...that hurt. Didn't want to see me?" he said holding his face close to Meryl's so that she couldn't ignore him. Liquid expected her to look away but she continued to stare steadily into his eyes. To his surprise Meryl smiled at him. Then her face became hard and cold.  
"Get the Hell off of me and let me go!" Meryl hissed, her voice hushed, sounding more menacing this time. They stood there for a few silent moments, neither of them was willing to move or speak.  
"Fine." Liquid eventually said. "But only because I've had my fun with you for now." He backed off and let Meryl's arms fall back to her sides. He turned away and stood at the door to unlock it.  
"Oh." Liquid began and peered over his shoulder so only his eyes showed over the collar of his coat. "I caught Snake trying to escape. He's alive for your information but that doesn't really matter now." Liquid said coldly. He looked at Meryl, still standing against the wall. She wilted a little as he shut the door on her.   
Liquid returned to find Snake, still unconscious and took hold of the ropes round his wrists, dragging him along into a large blast furnace.  
"I'm not carrying him up four levels." Liquid thought exasperated and looked round for an elevator. There was one not far to his left. It was only small and Liquid had trouble trying to cram himself and Snake in. It didn't help with Snake's lifeless body which wouldn't do anything that Liquid demanded. Finally he could slide the shutter and the lift juddered up to the top. Once again Liquid lugged Solid Snake behind him outside to another heliport. A freezing gale was blowing, bringing snow down out of the grey sky. He settled for tying Snake to the railings that wound round the helipad, doubling up the rope bindings with a length of wire he had found kicking about. Now there was no way Snake could try and get away.  
"Sorry, but I'll give you a rude awakening..." Liquid smiled as he took a fistful of icy snow and rubbed it into his twins face.  
  
"What...? What's that?" Snake thought wearily as something cold and crumbly was pressed into his face. He woke up to see the frozen snow in Liquid's hand and noticed that he was now outside. Snake shuddered at the biting gust of wind and instinctively tucked his legs up to his chest in order to get warm, still unable to move his arms. Metal cable dug into the raw skin round his wrists.  
"Get lost, Liquid..." Snake groaned not making the effort to even sound half annoyed, he knew it would make no difference anyway. His shot leg was painful to keep up in front of him the way it was so Snake rested it on the frozen concrete of the helipad.  
"Oh... did I waken you? So sorry Snake." Liquid answered in mock apology. "And I almost forgot... your time is up." Snake frowned and looked up.  
"Already?"  
"No, but after your escape attempt I've decided that in light of that you deserve no more time." Liquid replied coolly turning slightly away. Snake didn't need to be told what that meant; Liquid was going to kill him with or without his surrender. By the time Snake had looked up, his brother had gone from his sight.   
Snake hung his head, closed his eyes, shivering with the freezing air. He couldn't begin to think of what to do now. Tied up and wounded there was not much Snake could do except for hope for a miracle.   
"Yeah, but right now for that to happen I'd need a miracle to bring me one." Snake thought wretchedly.   
"Meryl... what about you?" Snake murmured. "I'm so sorry..." he uttered into the wind. His voice was rougher and his throat sore. It looked like that second time round he was not quite so lucky.   
  
Liquid went back to his quarters set aside for FOX-HOUND when they'd been enlisted in to the project. Of course that had been before anybody had any idea of what Liquid had planned to hijack the island and Metal Gear REX. They'd been posted on Shadow Moses weeks in advance to the test launch, and Liquid had taken with him a few items. Little mementoes he'd gathered from the many successful missions he'd been on after his release from Iraq. The odd spent bullet case from various weapons down to a pair of beaten dog tags bearing his name. But Liquid didn't recognise that name. It meant nothing to him, that person had died years ago and in his place was this person wracked with hate, angry at the world and two people; his father Big Boss and his twin brother Solid Snake.  
"What's this?" Liquid said. "I don't remember ever having this..." and from the heap of souvenirs he'd tipped out onto the floor, picked out a combat knife still in its original sheath. He had a look at it, a crisp swishing when he removed the blade from the case. It was a broad blade, the metal bright and absolutely immaculate, unsullied with blood, pure with no deaths to its tally. The back edge was serrated, the cutting edge keen enough to split hairs on. Liquid held it up to get a better look at it. Deadly grace in its form.  
Liquid sat back against the bed head and thought back, sifting through old memories finally settling. He shut his eyes trying to picture the mercenary that had given him the weapon. Liquid could almost feel the touch of their hands when they'd put it into his, soft and strong. The face he could see, just about. Feminine with dark eyes but he couldn't picture it perfectly, time had faded it from his mind.   
But maybe this was a sign. Perhaps things were taking a turn for the better for him. It gave Liquid a little more confidence and belief in himself after it had been reduced to nothing after what he'd been preached as a boy.  
"Well, well, well." He smiled and put it back into the case before attaching it to a loop on his belt. Liquid couldn't think of anybody else worthy of sharing the honour of being killed with the same weapon he'd use to kill Snake. And why should he? It would only stain the memory to use it again on a lesser enemy.  
  
"Snake..." a voice said softly. He could barely feel their hand on his shoulder, Snake was so cold, his skin numb.  
"C'mon... wake UP!" they said loudly and shook him harder.  
"Alright..."Snake thought and peered up. "I must have fallen asleep." Snake muttered not noticing the owner of the voice who spoke to him.  
"Meryl?!" he breathed and smiled, the dried blood on his face cracked with it. "How'd you..."  
"...escape? Does it matter? I'm here and I'm going to get us away from here." Meryl finished and went to untie him from the railings and hugged him tight.  
"You're frozen..." Meryl sighed and did her best to warm him up. Snake could see that he was slowly turning blue with cold and let Meryl huddle up close to him.   
"C'mon lets go." Meryl said after a while helping him stand and draped Snake's arm round her shoulders letting him lean on her for support as they walked slowly across the snowfield.  
Half-way down, their progress had been slow and difficult with deep snow, knee deep in places halting them. Every now and then Snake's leg gave up and refused to take anymore, having had its fair share of punishment.   
"Hey, we can't stop. Not now." Meryl cried after picking him up again. Snake couldn't help feeling helpless and a burden on her right now and did his best to keep on going.  
  
"Scenic route I think that should be known as." Liquid thought after returning to the snowfield. He'd taken a different way which had brought him to a walkway on the upper level of the building giving him a good panoramic view of the snowfield with the blast furnace in the distance. A pair of figures shuffling his way broke the white snow and a quick glance through the scope of his PSG-1 confirmed his suspicions. He continued to watch. Snake stumbled, paused, then found his feet again with Meryl's help. Liquid made sure that he wasn't skylining himself and got down onto his front steadying the rifle in his hands. The laser was off and he peered through the scope again. Liquid Snake breathed in deep while he lined up Snake's good leg in the crosshairs, pulling back on the trigger a little. Rock steady. Wait... he had his target. A little bit more on the trigger and the rifle kicked into life for a second, bucking back and Liquid went with the recoil. He still watched as the pair looked up, shocked for a second. Snake's face creased up a split second later, a cloud of bright red appeared from his leg as the bullet left and his knees buckled unable to hold up his weight. Meryl knelt down at his side and then began to drag Snake through the snow in an attempt to find cover or escape. Liquid raced down the stairs taking him to ground level furious that they'd tried to break away again.  
  
Meryl had hooked her arms under Snake's almost as soon as he'd fallen and began pulling him through the snow. Cold as it was, Snake had no time to complain.  
"SNAKE!!" Meryl cried. "You okay!?"   
"What do you think!?" Snake thought "I've been shot, I can't walk so the answer is no!"  
This one was more serious. The bullet had hit in the middle of his leg and Snake guessed close to the bone, he'd felt it go right through like it had been slowed down and made the pain even more. Snake didn't answer Meryl's question.  
"Saving your strength?" Meryl said with a nervous laugh. "I should have done that when I got shot..." she added. "But...we'll be okay...We can escape."  
"I'm not so sure." Snake thought, happy and sad that Meryl was struggling to keep on going and not ready to back down and surrender him.   
"Meryl... just leave me and get away. Don't..." Snake said weakly before Meryl cut him off. She was finding it difficult now.  
"NO!!" she cried as she strained to move him only a few inches. "No. I... WON'T... give UP!" Meryl's words fractured with each effort to haul him across the soft snow. Suddenly Snake felt her grip slip and Meryl went tumbling backwards and Snake was lying back in the snow. He looked up and scrambled to sit up.  
"Doesn't waste time does he?" Snake thought as he looked to see Liquid slowly advancing towards them. Meryl was by his side and held him close to herself. Snake tried to push her away.  
"GO!" Snake growled. Instead of heeding his advice Meryl just hugged him even tighter.  
"I WON'T!" she said fiercely wrapping her arms round him protectively. Snake felt Meryl's heart quicken when Liquid got closer and reached up to her.  
"Please... Meryl..." he implored watching her gorgeous eyes filling up.  
"I know I didn't when she told me to leave her but..." Snake said inside his head and stopped when he saw Meryl slowly shake her head and rested it on top of his.  
"Meryl..." Snake began. "it might not be a good thing for you to watch." Snake knew how much Liquid wanted him dead and imagined that Liquid wanted him to go painfully. Meryl ignored him.  
"I want to be the last thing you see." Meryl replied her voice a whisper. Snake paused, about to say something, touched by her words. Liquid stopped at Snake's feet, a slight wry smile all over his face and reflected in his eyes.  
"Third time not so lucky, eh Snake?" he sneered waving the PSG-1 in their direction. "Surprised that you didn't learn from Meryl's little accident with Wolf." Liquid grinned.  
"BASTARD!!" Meryl screamed at him still clutching hold of Snake. Her shout hurt his ears, deepened his sadness to hear her still fighting with the only weapon she had left; words. Liquid crouched down at their side, tugging at Meryl's arms to get her to let go. Meryl fought back jerking away. Liquid scrambled to his feet and swung at her with the butt of the sniper rifle.  
"MERYL!" Snake cried when he saw her sent down to the ground. Meryl lay still for a second and then moved, put a hand to her face, sniffling. Snake stared back at Liquid who went to make a grab for his throat.   
"No way!!" Snake shouted and raised a fist and punched his brothers face from where he was on the ground. Liquid took a step back before lashing out at him, knocking Snake back into the snow before drawing him up by his neck. Eye level with each other, Snake wondered why Liquid had suddenly let his face go blank.   
Snake never saw the smile on his brothers face when he felt cold metal punch into his stomach, driving in, watched as six inches of steel plunged inside up to the handle with Liquid's hand around it. His body had gone stiff, Snake couldn't move; he daren't move, waiting for the pain to come. The blade twisted around in his gut, destroying him inside. Snake felt his face twisting up with it, screwed his eyes up catching a glimpse of Liquid's grinning face. Snake could still hear the tearing inside him, a scream building in his throat was released when Liquid ripped the broad bladed combat knife out, and to be broken when Liquid stabbed into his chest. He didn't hear Meryl's scream for him. It felt like forever before Liquid tore the knife out again. Snake barely felt the final stab in his stomach before he fell. Liquid stood back and watched his hands covered in blood as he put the weapon away.   
Down on his knees, the snow came to meet him, before turning into a cloudy grey sky. Meryl was there, holding him close. Snake felt her tears drop down onto his face, held onto his, Snake didn't want to die like that. He could barely feel Meryl at all and could only just about make out her face when he looked up at her, cut out by slow, heavy eyelids falling shut and opening again. Snake reached up to hug her.  
"...S...Sna...Snake..." Meryl began her voice cracked up and broken beyond recognition. "...I...I'm..."   
"Don't...be sorry..." Snake managed and wiped her tears away. He felt another weak wave overcome him, his eyes shut again and Snake fought to stay alive just a little longer. He wasn't sure of what to say, his thoughts seemed to drain out like his blood onto the snow. Instead Snake just moaned.  
"It hurts..." he murmured and felt himself curling up before the pain stopped him, soothed a little as Meryl ran her fingers through his hair.  
"Snake... what about me?!" Meryl asked her voice raising up with her cries. "What will I do?" Snake was drifting away; he took another look at her, smiled a little. Meryl struggled to smile but managed to in the end. Snake knew he couldn't hold on much longer, each muscle became weak and he had no control, he couldn't breathe and began to choke. Meryl shook him.  
"NO! DON'T GO!!" she shouted. Snake couldn't respond, still choking and wheezing. Meryl stopped it and looked into his eyes apologetically.  
"Snake...?" she asked.  
Snake was losing. Far too powerless to resist now.  
"Meryl..."Snake muttered softly. Her touch faded away from his skin, the black round his vision closed in and into nothing.  
  
Liquid had moved away and watched from a short distance away. Snake's head rolled to one side and his body went limp in Meryl's arms. Meryl stopped completely, her eyes had dried up and not a sound was heard. Just utter silence. Liquid waited.  
Meryl watched Snake for a few moments, her head hung down. She hugged him tight, holding him close, eyes closed to hide her hurt, softly moaning his name.  
Liquid saw her sink down, still holding onto Snake, shuddering while she cried. It was like a massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders. A fresh feeling washed over him despite his gory hands, the blood still hot from Snake's body. He walked back to where Meryl was crouched over his twin. Her arms were stained where she held Snake, the snow all round a mushy mess.  
"Never thought he would have so much blood left in him..." Liquid Snake thought, noting how many times he had caused injury to his brother. Meryl was now fidgeting with the bandanna round Snake's head and took it off, held it in one hand and clenched it into a fist.   
"Come to admire your work?" she spat without looking at him. Liquid still looked at Snake. He was glad that his eyes had closed; Liquid hated that, it made him feel uneasy and reminded him of his first kill when he was a young man.   
Liquid had been caught off guard while going over this memory and Meryl made a charge at him. Liquid saw her, tears streamed down her cheeks, and managed to knock her down before she attacked. He took one step and aimed his SOCOM at her. Meryl could only look right back at him, trembling cold, frightened and angry.   
"I can't kill her." Liquid thought. "Besides, I've got living proof I killed the legend, but she is a memory of what had happened before..." Liquid finished and walked round behind Meryl still pointing the gun at her. He let Meryl get up on her feet and hoped that it would be quick, wrapped his arms round Meryl's neck, and closed them tight on her throat. He felt Meryl go stiff as she tried to breathe with a panicked gasp. Liquid jerked at her neck to snap it. He felt it give in his arm, but she was still alive and struggling even more as severed nerves fired off randomly.  
"I never meant it to be like this..." he whispered not sure if she heard or even understood him now. "He had to die." 


	8. The Last Word.

The Last Word.  
  
Well I did write both endings and I can say it didn't take much persuasion to make me, I was intending on writing them both and I am glad I did. Call me cruel whatever, but even though Snake is my favourite Metal Gear character, (Liquid follows a close second! ^-^) I enjoyed writing Liquid's ending and I guess I came under the same dilemma as him! I couldn't decide how I was going to finish Snake! I'm not obsessed with death or anything, but writing a death is tricky. I mean, you only die once and there's nobody around to tell you what it's like, but it's interesting too, trying to describe what the character is thinking, feeling everything.  
So for my choice of death for Snake, well, I thought simply shooting him was very impersonal and detached. As you know the dispute between him and Liquid is deeply rooted right into the genes so an impersonal death would be no use. Plus I had Liquid reflect this point. Quote from fic Chapter 4; "Shooting him is too easy, bit impersonal I think..." I just thought that having Liquid kill Snake with a knife fitted Liquid's character better and I guess it gave me an excuse to drag out Snake's death and not make it easy for him or Meryl.  
As for which ending is the true one, I think Snake's is the one. But I guess it depends on the reader and I don't mind how you perceived it, I know there are lots of Liquid fans out there and Snake fans, and I also wanted to have the best of both worlds.   
I'm so happy that I managed to finish what is my longest fic to date. Oh and that... yes... that in chapter 1...near the end. The way I see it every writer thinks about writing them or actually writes love scenes. I say love scenes and will stress that word 'love'. I will admit that I was tempted to write more and add more detail but then any more would have ruined the effect I wanted and possibly have crossed the border into becoming too graphic. I meant to leave it at that. Why? I think that it emphasised that it was a private moment in Snake's life which then really isn't so private after Liquid says later on in the fic that he watched. Secondly and I think I dealt with this in the actual fic but in case I didn't make it clear, it happened because of love. To add more about what happened between the sheets would spoil it, simple as that. And if the reader wished, they could add more to it themselves in their imagination That freedom for the reader was also intended. I did read from a famous author, whom I can't remember, that suggestion is sometimes far sexier than revealing all.  
As a last note, if you know me, music plays a big part in my life. I listen to music for most of my waking hours, and I'm a rock/metal singer in my university's band society and write my own songs too. (I'm not willing to put up the lyrics on my site or any other, since I'm worried about them being stolen.) I also listened to lots of music while writing this, so thanks to; Linkin Park, Muse, Papa Roach, Otep, Slipknot, Björk, American Head Charge, Mad Capsule Markets, Static-X, the sound track to MGS of course... the list goes on and I guess I could also thank the radio too and lots of less well known bands which are too numerous to list here. I've been known to sing when I get stuck which is fun too! I enjoy writing hugely and writing this fic was great and I'm so glad that many other people enjoyed reading it. I can't wait to write MGS2 fics, but that won't be until I get the game in February and have thoroughly dissected and devoured the plot and understand it. So again thanks so much!  
• Silver Wolf • 


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